Another Fate, Another Time
by tsukasayuki
Summary: Based on a dream, this story is set in an alternate time line based on the events of Birth By Sleep. Tsura, much like Ventus, had arrived at the Land of Departure with no memories and was taken care of by Master Eraqus, Aqua, and Terra. Everyone must face that because of both Tsura and Ventus's dark pasts, happiness may not last at all. *Spoilers for Birth by Sleep*
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

She sat in the darkness of her room, pampered by two servants as she stared blankly ahead. Her life felt like it had no meaning; what was she doing, and why was she here? She wanted to know the reason it had to be her.

"Lady Kira," one of the servants said, brushing the woman's long silver hair. "How are you holding up today?"

A sigh came from the woman. She slowly stood up, shooing the servants to not stand up with her. "I've looked at many worlds, and I've witnessed many beings. What strikes me as interesting is people with pure hearts; filled only with light." She turned to face the servants, her red eyes seeming to be hollowed out. "I want to know, what it feels like to actually have a heart. A queen of darkness leads a life of solitude."

"But you have us m'lady!" The other servant exclaimed, feeling a little offended.

"Still, I cannot go to the outside world and only a fraction of beings know I exist here. Even on this small island, there are those filled with light." The woman flipped her hair back, staring out a window into a night sky. "Those three boys, so young and full of life, that come to play out here. So why do I have to be here?"

"Are you questioning your existence, Lady Kira? For every light, a shadow is created. You are the shadow created from the Princesses of Heart; women who have pure hearts. You need to exist for them to exist," the servant tried to comfort her, but it ended up making it worse.

A moment of silence was had in the dark room, the servants not finding any more words to comfort her, and Kira simply not wanting to say anything for fear of slashing out against her servants. She continued to stare out the window, yearning for something that she knew would be impossible.

After a few silent minutes, a young man barged in the door, startling the three. "Lady Kira! Urgent news! A citizen is being taken away and strange creatures have started to appear! I believe he is your friend. Orders?"

Kira's eyes widened. "Taken away? To another world? Who came to this realm?"

The boy shook his head. There was a young, dirty blonde boy that knew of Kira's existence, and whenever he came with two younger boys he would always keep her company. Her new servant's lack of knowledge disturbed her. "I can't allow this to happen. This world's balance will be disturbed if this continues and he is taken away." Kira ran past her servants and out into the outside world, looking at the strange looking creatures. They looked like black mice with pointy ears, and they all jumped at her at once.

She knocked them off of her, but they kept on appearing. "What are these things?"

As she tried to fight them off, she noticed a piece of paper close by. She picked it up and immediately recognized the handwriting as her friend's. It was addressed to her, but before she could read it, the creatures jumped in unison onto her.

She fell to her knees as the creatures overtook her. Although she was a dweller of darkness, she had threatened their existence so they threatened hers. Her three servants finally followed her out, and witnessed her being overtaken. The youngest one, the messenger, tried to pry one of the creatures off, but it bit him and then the creature vanished. The other creatures vanished right after, but what was left was not Kira; only the letter that had been written to her. The darkness overtook the queen.

_Prologue End_

* * *

_*Secret Report 0 Unlocked: Letter to Kira_

_Dear my beloved Kira. I've been told that I have a fate greater than what I've been doing here at Destiny Islands. I am to protect the light, as a true keyblade wielder. Remember those tales I told you of, about the legendary weapon? That's what I'm going to do._

_Don't ever change Kira. Stay the way you are, and don't leave your servants or people behind. Sora and Riku are good kids; they need you to protect them from the outside forces. So please, don't follow me. Though that might be asking too much. Kira, I may have fallen in love you, but it's something that couldn't be. Stay who you are, so that maybe one day, I can return to you and say that I love you._

_Until then, my queen..._

_~Your Friend..._


	2. Chapter 1 - A New Beginning

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

It was the crack of dawn, and three friends could be heard sparring with one another in the cliffs of The Land of Departure. The spinning of the wheels to help train made a screeching sound, along with the joyful laughter of the friends. The sun rise shone beautifully with a blend of orange and pink colors; shining brightly on the three.

Ventus, Terra, and Aqua. The three were training under the Keyblade Master Eraqus to one day become masters themselves. Ventus fell to the ground after sparring with Terra, and scratched the back of his head as Terra laughed, walking closer to the younger boy. Aqua sat on one of the wheels, laughing at the two boys.

"Hey, that hurts!" Ventus said, standing back up and gripping his keyblade backhand, an unusual way of holding the keyblade.

"Giving up already? Come on Ven, I thought you were stronger than that!" Terra laughed and gripped his keyblade in hand, ready for round two.

"Giving up? I'm just getting started!" Ven laughed and charged at Terra, the two boys sparring and laughing at each other, while Aqua laughed as she watched.

"Okay, but this is the last round. I get to fight the winner," Aqua stated, wondering if they heard her through the racket. She flipped her short blue hair back and smiled at the two.

Then from above the field the three friends were sparring at, another young one came running down, holding a pure black keyblade with woven designs backhand. She ran toward Aqua and panted, not letting go of the keyblade. The girl flipped her short silver hair back and looked at Aqua with pleading violet eyes. "You guys didn't wake me up! You're doing all the training by yourselves!"

Aqua smiled, turning her attention from the boys to the girl. She patted the girl's head and ruffled her hair. "I tried to, but you said you were in a good dream. So I let you sleep."

The girl's cheeks puffed up, and she took Aqua's hand off her head. "My dream world isn't as good as training with you guys to become a keyblade master!" This only made Aqua laugh.

The boys had stopped sparring, and Terra held his keyblade behind his neck and smiled at the girl who was late. "How nice of you to show up, Tsura! You just missed all of the fun." He was clearly teasing her.

"That's not nice Terra! I really tried. Maybe _you _should be the one to wake me up next time!"

"I wouldn't think of entering a lady's room while she was sleeping," Terra said with a smile.

Ventus stood up and tapped Terra's back, smiling at him. "Then it would be no problem. Tsura's not a lady." Both him and Terra laughed as they teased her; the girl's cheeks puffed up even more.

Aqua smiled and jumped down from her seat, patting Tsura's head again which made her feel a little relaxed, and then Aqua looked at the two boys. "Okay, that's enough teasing her. She made an effort. It's our turn to spar now; you boys have had enough fun."

Terra pointed his keyblade toward the field him and Ventus were just sparring at and smiled at the two girls. "It's all yours. Go easy on her Aqua."

Aqua ignored the statement and walked past the two boys, readying herself for the battle. Tsura followed Aqua, but stopped in front of Terra and Ventus and gave them both a look. "I don't want her to go easy. That's not training. I can handle anything!" Tsura smiled at the two and went to stand in front of Aqua, getting ready for probably the most brutal training session she's ever had to deal with.

"I believe you can do it Tsura! And so does Terra!" Ventus yelled from behind, cheering Tsura on.

Tsura nodded, smiling back at Aqua. Aqua followed the gesture. Then Aqua charged at Tsura, not giving her a fair warning. Tsura rolled to the side to avoid Aqua, and blocked each attack Aqua threw at her. Tsura wasn't given much of a chance to be on the offense, but she was successfully blocking so no harm was done to her. Aqua then stepped back and casted a magic spell. Tsura jumped and dodged it, leaving her an opening to attack Aqua. Now the match had flipped. Tsura was on the offensive and Aqua kept using her barrier and cartwheeling out of harm's way. Finally, when Aqua saw her opening, she clashed with Tsura's keyblade and they were locked in a standstill; the two girls looking at each other with their keyblades clashing. Finally, Aqua's keyblade one and Tsura was knocked down, her keyblade flying away.

Ventus caught her keyblade and smiled at the two girls.

Aqua walked over to the young Tsura and kneeled down, offering the girl her hand. "You've gotten a lot better Tsura. Have you been training by yourself?"

The girl, on her knees and looking a little hurt, nodded. "I… I wanted to be good enough for you, Ven, and Terra. So I'd be able to keep up… I know I've been a little slow so…" It sounded like she was about to cry. Instead of helping her up, Aqua embraced Tsura in a hug, pressing Tsura against her chest and patting her hair.

"You've always been amazing. This determination is proof enough. I thought you were going to win for a moment there; offense isn't everything. You're blocking is really impressive, and you're a quick thinker too." Aqua lifted Tsura's head and smiled at her. "We're all doing our best, and that's good enough."

Tsura smiled and nodded, and then the two girls stood up and walked toward the two boys. Ventus handed Tsura her keyblade and she took it, nodding at him. Then Terra playfully put his arm around Tsura, smiling at her. "That was great. All of us are going to become great keyblade masters one day."

Tsura smiled at Terra, then looked back at Ventus and smiled at him as well. Aqua patted Tsura's head and smiled at her three friends. Terra then let go of Tsura and stood next to Ventus, smiling at the two girls. "They look just like sisters, don't they Ven?"

Ventus chuckled. "Yeah, they do. It's amazing."

The two girls looked at each other and smiled. "Maybe it's because I'm the one who made her clothes and cut her hair," Aqua said, playing with the black ribbon on the girl's arm. Tsura's outfit was similar to Aqua's, except that it was silver with black ribbon and her boots were black. Aqua had tailored her own clothing, as well as Tsura's. "Oh! Before I forget," Aqua exclaimed and grabbed something out of her pocket. Four things to be exact. They were star shaped and were hanging on strings. She gave the green one to Ventus; the Orange one to Terra; the White one to Tsura, and she kept the blue one to herself.

"What are these? Good luck charms?" Ventus asked what everyone else was thinking.

"They're wayfinders. I based them off a fruit that's supposed to be star-shaped; they say if friends share that fruit with another person, that their lives will always be connected," Aqua smiled. "Since I couldn't find the fruit, I made these. So that no matter where we are, the four of us will never be apart."

"I've heard of that fruit," Tsura smiled at the wayfinder and tied it around her sash that lay on her waist. "Thank you Aqua."

The two boys put theirs in their pockets, smiling. Terra put his arm around Aqua and Ventus, smiling. "The four of us could never be separated. After all, we'll all become keyblade masters." Terra said, looking back at Tsura.

Tsura nodded and smiled.

The silence was broken when Aqua lifted Terra's arm off her shoulder, and had a concerned look on her face. "That's right. Terra, the master wished to see the both of us today. We should probably see him soon." Terra's expression changed to a solemn look as he unwrapped his arm from Ventus.

He patted Ventus's head and then patted Tsura's head. He then looked at Aqua and nodded. "Yeah I forgot about that. Sorry you two; we have some discussions to take care of."

"Aw, official business?" Ventus said, a little sad that the sparring time was limited.

"I suppose. We all don't have dark unknown pasts like you two, so I'm sure it's simple things that Master Eraqus is more comfortable telling Aqua and I," Terra smiled. Ventus grew a little upset at this statement.

Tsura stuck her tongue out at Terra. "Unknown pasts? Don't be stupid Terra. Ven and I have been with you guys since the beginning. It's only because you and Aqua are older." Terra was taken aback by the girl who stood up for her and Ventus.

Aqua smiled as she walked in between Tsura and Terra. "That's right Tsura. It's only because we're 18, and you two are younger." She smiled and waved at the two; Terra following closely behind.

After Terra and Aqua were gone from eye sight, Tsura let out a big sigh; her expression changing into a solemn look. Ventus tried to look at her face, but her long bangs covered it. Her hair was tapered to be shorter in the back then the front, so her neck was open to the sky. Ventus poked the back of her neck, thinking it would knock her out of her trance. She simply stood up straight as she placed her hand over the spot Ventus poked, but her expression was still solemn. "Hey Tsu. What's wrong? You were so chipper back there and then-"

"It's true. You and I are different from Aqua and Terra. I tried to ignore it, but I can't deny something that's a fact."

"Even still, just because we came from different worlds, it doesn't mean we're any different! Isn't that right Tsu?" Ventus didn't want to believe that him and Tsura shared a common ground; an unknown past. He believed that it was simply a matter of where they were born.

She chuckled and shook her head, grabbing her arm slightly. "Maybe that's true for you Ven, but I know I'm different. I can't even properly use magic. There's an innate ability I don't have that the three of you do. So I find it hard that Master Eraqus still keeps me here training as a keyblade weilder, rather than just being a maid of some sort."

"Tsu, that's not..." Ventus shook his head. He couldn't find the words to properly comfort her. Terra probably would've been better at it. "Eraqus sees something in you; in all of us. That's why we're here."

Tsura smiled at Ventus, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Heheh. Yeah. I guess you're right." She wiped her eyes away and sat on top of the training wheel staring at the now fully lit sky. The sun had fully risen and it was prime time morning. She wiggled her feet slightly as though she were anxious. Ventus looked up at her with a curious expression. "Ventus. Do you remember when I first came here?"

It was a random question, so Ventus cocked an eyebrow in a curious manner. "Sort of. It was only a month after me from what I recall, and you were pretty torn up." He shook his head. "Sorry, it was a little sad to see a young girl like that..."

"It's okay. I'm just thankful Aqua found me first and covered me up," Tsura chuckled as she tried to remember. "It's a little strange that the only thing I remembered was my name. Although I was holding a keyblade, I didn't know how to use it at first." She shook her head. "I was really pathetic."

Ventus shook his head and looked at her. "Not at all. At least you could speak; when I first arrived I could barely speak and... well, there was a time when I had become fully unconscious." Ventus smiled and offered his hand to Tsura.

She took it and stepped down. "Then you and I are similar."

"Maybe. That's why we need Aqua and Terra though,"

"You're right. If it was just us two, we'd be a complete mess." The two laughed as she said this, and they both decided to go back to the castle as Tsura remembered the day she arrived at the Land of Departure.

* * *

A young girl laid in a lonely field of white flowers, her long silver hair blending with the colors and blood pooling out of her. She barely had any clothes on her for they had been ripped off. She was covered in scars and barely breathing, but in her right hand she held a pure black keyblade.

It was before sunrise, but sometimes Aqua would wake up early and go for a morning jog to get her blood pumping before Terra or Ventus woke up. This particular day was colder than usual, so Aqua had brought a soft blue blanket out on her walk. While out on her walk, she noticed she had stepped in a puddle of blood. Frightened, she ran to see the source of it only to find the young girl. Shocked, Aqua wrapped her up in the blanket and lifted her up. "A... keyblade?" Aqua noticed that the girl's grip on the keyblade was firm, and when she tried to steal it away from her it disappeared. Aqua decided to take the girl to Master Eraqus.

That girl later revealed her name to be Tsura and couldn't recall anything else about her past or why she held a keyblade, but Master Eraqus clearly saw potential in her and decided that she would be trained as a keyblade master.

Ever since then, Tsura became great friends with Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, never to be torn apart.

* * *

"Is that true Master Eraqus?" Aqua's voice showed concern as Terra stood in silence.

"I'm afraid so. The balance of light has been tipped over, and now there are numerous strange creatures invading all of the worlds," Eraqus shook his head. This clearly disturbed him. "Unfortunately I don't have enough information to act upon it yet."

Terra clenched his fists. "It's the darkness, isn't it?" Aqua's eyes widened at Terra while Eraqus nodded. "Then why keep this information from Ventus and Tsura?"

"Those children shouldn't be disturbed with such news; it would only hurt the balance even more."

Eraqus's words disturbed Aqua and Terra. What did he mean by that? What did Ventus and Tsura have to do with the balance of light? They knew this truth wouldn't be revealed to them; at least not yet, so they shouldn't worry about it. But it still concerned Terra; more so than Aqua.

"Terra, Aqua. The mark of mastery is tomorrow. Please be ready. I hope to bring better news tomorrow. You are dismissed." Eraqus stepped down and walked behind the throne to a room, leaving Aqua and Terra behind.

Aqua could clearly see how upset Terra was; his fists were still clenched. "Terra, I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of. Master Eraqus meant something different than what he said. Tsura and Ventus have nothing to do with the lost balance."

"I wish it were that easy to think like that Aqua," Terra sighed. "We both know that's not true. Ventus was brought by Master Xehanort and he could barely remember anything. A month later Tsura was brought here torn up, and she couldn't even remember her own name-"

The sound of a keyblade dropping was heard, and Terra and Aqua turned to see both Tsura and Ventus standing in the doorway. Tsura had heard Terra. Her memory of when she arrived was different than what he just said; was she trying to block something out? "I-is that true Terra?" Tsura walked closer to the two, wanting answers. "Then, where did the name Tsura come from? That's always been my name, and it's never been different!"

Terra couldn't say any words to Tsura to help her discomfort; instead he tried to reach for her, but he couldn't. Aqua stepped in between and put her hands on Tsura's shoulders. "Terra didn't mean it because when you first got here, you didn't remember, but later on your name came back to you. That's all that he meant." Aqua didn't want any arguments between the four; especially since hearing the news of imbalance. Of course Eraqus's words also disturbed Aqua, but she wouldn't let it get to her. She let go of Tsura's shoulders and walked to the right. "Sorry, I'm a little bit tired so I'm going to take a rest. The Mark of Mastery is tomorrow." Aqua smiled and disappeared from sight, going to her room.

Her words did comfort Tsura a little bit, and she was surprised to hear that the Mark of Mastery was tomorrow. She looked past to where Aqua disappeared and sighed. Ventus sighed and handed Tsura her keyblade. She hesitantly took it and nodded. "Aqua seemed upset. I'm going to go check on her." Ventus said, then chasing after Aqua. The truth was that he felt it was necessary for Tsura and Terra to talk because she was clearly upset by his words. After Ventus disappeared from sight, she turned her gaze toward Terra, who looked a little concerned.

The two didn't have any words to say to each other. Tsura had thought a lot about her past, and she couldn't remember anything. She was scared that what Terra said was true; that Tsura wasn't her real name. "So..." Tsura began to speak. "The Mark of Mastery is tomorrow?"

"That's right," Terra tried to stay cool about it.

"Then... Good luck. You and Aqua will make it!" Tsura said, then turned around to walk away and enjoy the sunlight. Before she could leave, she felt arm being tugged on, causing her to drop her keyblade.

"That's all you're going to say? You have a lot more to say to me, so just say it," Terra's hand gripped around Tsura.

She didn't turn to look at him. "Aqua is right. When I first arrived I couldn't even remember my name, but it eventually came back to me. I don't know anything else; about the light or the darkness. So I'm of no use to anyone; that's probably the reason Master Eraqus didn't call me in here today." She tried to get free of Terra's grip, but it just tightened around her arm. "Terra, please let go. I have to train."

He pulled her closer to him and turned her around to face him, and then embraced her. Tsura's eyes widened as Terra brought her closer. "You work too hard Tsura. For what? What are you trying to accomplish?"

"I have to be good enough so I can be on par with you and Aqua. Why are you holding me like this? I don't like it at all! Please let go of me!"

"Never. I won't ever let you go. Even if your past is something troubled, you're still my dear friend. I won't let anyone take that away. That's why I was cautious of the words Master Eraqus said."

Tsura's eyes widened. "He... practically thinks me and Ven are responsible?"

"I don't want to doubt the Master, but if it endangers you..." Terra held Tsura closer.

She then pushed Terra back, becoming free of his grip. "Face it Terra. I can never be as good as you or Aqua. If Master Eraqus desires it, I would gladly disappear for the good of the universe!" She shook her head and grabbed her keyblade. "Don't... don't ever touch me like that again. Please." With that, she ran toward where Aqua and Ventus ran off to; the hallway containing all the bedrooms.

Terra clenched his fists again, noticing the darkness emitting from it. He shook it off. "Dammit, what was I thinking?" His head was in pain as he followed Tsura to the rooms.

Aqua laid on her bed, holding a small stuffed bunny she had made when she was younger, and deep in thought. A knock on the door was heard, but she didn't answer it. "Aqua, are you okay?" The voice belonged to Ventus.

"I'm just tired Ven. I think I woke up too early," she gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it."

"But Aqua... What did Master Eraqus say? Tsu may have heard it, but I couldn't," Ventus really just wanted to see Aqua, but she wasn't in a mood to see anyone.

She chuckled when Ventus called Tsura "Tsu." It meant they were closer than she originally thought, and that was good. "It's nothing to worry about Ven. I need rest."

Ventus sighed as he stepped away from the door. He then noticed Tsura walking toward him and he gave her a slight smile. "Hey Tsu."

She looked solemn and walked in Aqua's room, looking back at Ventus. "Sorry Ven. It's girl time now; I have no time to talk." Ventus cocked his eyebrow and sighed; he decided to go bother Terra since Tsura and Aqua were having their girl talk.

Tsura slowly shut the door behind her, but it still startled Aqua. Aqua stared up at the intruder with curious eyes. She almost wanted to kick Tsura out of her room, but she realized Tsura had good intentions. Maybe all she needed was time alone with another female. "Sorry. You probably don't want company right now, but the only company I want is another girl." Tsura walked to Aqua's bed and sat down next to her, looking down at her keyblade. "I have a bad feeling… that after the Mark of Mastery, something terrible is going to happen to break us all apart."

Aqua's eyes widened. Oddly enough, Aqua had been thinking the same thing. She didn't want to worry the others with her premonitions though; she was hoping they were wrong. It worried her even more now that Tsura had the same feeling. Aqua let go of her stuffed bunny and placed an arm around Tsura, bringing her close. "Even if we're apart, we'll always be together. Isn't that right? That's what the wayfinders are for."

Tsura sighed. "That's right. I just don't want any of us to change. Being exposed to darkness and to light, I fear what may happen to all of us. Especially you and Terra. After all you two are the ones to become keyblade masters tomorrow." Tsura shook her head. "I think I did something terrible to Terra just now…"

Aqua stared at her and gently stroked Tsura's hair. She was curious, but she didn't want to pry. She knew the young girl would tell her if she wanted to. "I think I did something terrible to Ven…"

Tsura chuckled at Aqua's words. "Terra was only trying to comfort me, so he hugged me… And I, in a fit, pushed him away and said some pretty terrible things…" Tsura embraced one of her knees and looked up. "I'll be honest with you Aqua. I only see Terra as an older brother… because for the longest time I think I've fallen in love with Ven…"

Aqua's eyes widened. She thought Tsura and Ventus already had a strong connection, but maybe that was just Ventus being friendly. "Ha...haha. I know Ven just wanted to comfort me… Maybe I'm just like you." She smiled and followed Tsura's gesture. "Ven is like a little brother to me, but everytime I look at Terra I…" Aqua placed a hand on her heart. "My heart goes crazy. Is that love?" Aqua shook her head. "I'm a little envious. I can clearly see how much Terra loves you, yet he treats me like a sister."

Tsura smirked. "Haha. It's obvious how much Ven wants to impress you too Aqua. I think we're the only two who sees this mess; those boys can't interpret it the way we do."

Aqua laughed and patted Tsura's back. "That's okay, because the four of us are a team. No matter what, it'll always be us four. Isn't that right?"

Tsura nodded. "That's right. We should go. I'm sure they're both worried about us."

The two girls stood up with smiles on their faces. Tsura opened the door and saw Terra and Ventus standing outside. "We didn't hear a thing," Ventus commented, looking away. Which was true; they really didn't hear anything.

Terra stretched as the two girls stepped outside of the room; a smile on his face. "By the way, Ven was telling me some interesting stuff. You should share with them Ven."

Both Aqua and Tsura looked at Ventus in unison, curious of his story. He began, "I was just saying I might have remembered something about my past. I had a dream about a queen named Kira."

"Kira?" Tsura was a little skeptical.

Ventus shook his head. "It was a queen with silver hair. I don't remember much, but I know we were good friends. I think I should share this with Master Eraqus; maybe he knows her."

Aqua smiled and patted Ventus's head. "That's great that you're remembering these things Ven. I'm sure the Master will be relieved to hear it."

Ventus nodded. "Anyway, you two are going to do great at the Mark of Mastery! I can't wait to see it!"

Tsura smiled and nodded. "That's right. I won't miss it for the world either!" The four friends laughed with each other, not realizing what kind of fate awaited them the very next day.

_Chapter 1 End_

* * *

_*Secret Report 1 Unlocked: Tsura's Journal Entry one._

_I was kind of rude to Terra earlier. I didn't know what to do though; to be honest, I always noticed the way he looked at me. It felt a little uncomfortable, especially because I had known about Aqua's feelings for him. Besides, Terra is a big brother to me and nothing more._

_That was still no reason for me to push him aside like that. Even after all that, the two of us seemed to laugh away at Ven's story and how the Mark of Mastery is tomorrow, but just looking at Terra, I could tell that he was still upset. I don't know what to do though; I really should make it up to him and apologize, but I don't... I don't want him to get the wrong idea again._

_I wonder why I am so upset about this. Terra is a good person, but to be honest, I think it mostly had to do with the fact that... that it wasn't Ven who vowed to protect me the way Terra did. And that bothered me; because my heart belongs to Ven._

_My heart? It feels like I have one, but yet when I place my hand on my chest and try to determine feelings from my heart, it feels like nothing is there._

_I'm a mess with a dark past. Yeah, Terra should know the truth about me so he'll stop pursuing me and finally turn to Aqua._


	3. Chapter 2 - Mark of Mastery

**Chapter 2: Mark of Mastery**

Tsura's eyes opened to the bright sun shining down on her through the window. The sun's position made her think it was midday; she then shot up, thinking she may have missed the Mark of Mastery test. She hurriedly slipped on her boots and tied her ribbons in the way she always wore them. Before leaving her room though, she heard noise coming from outside. She peeked out the window to see what was making the noise, and she was relieved to see that it was Aqua and Terra training. The test hadn't passed yet, so she didn't wake up too late. Sighing with relief, she decided to leave her room to see what Ventus was doing.

"Master Eraqus… I think I remembered something about my past," Ventus had made sure to talk to Eraqus before the test. He wanted to know more about the queen from his memories.

Eraqus wasn't as pleased to hear this news as everyone else was, but he would listen to his pupil. "That's wonderful. What is it Ventus?"

"It was… something about a queen… Her name was Kira, and she had silver hair. I don't remember much else, but I know we were good friends," Ventus spoke about the woman with happiness on his face.

Unknowing to Ventus and Eraqus, Tsura stood behind a pillar listening in on the conversation. She didn't want to interrupt, and she was also curious.

Eraqus's eyes widened as Ventus mentioned Kira. This was proof enough that he knew of the woman, but he didn't say a word. "That is interesting Ventus, but it's something you don't need to worry about. That woman… well, there's no hope for her."

So it was true. There really was a woman named Kira, but Eraqus's words disturbed Ventus. "That means… Oh, well, at least I remembered something. How unfortunate, I really wanted to meet her again."

Eraqus shook his head. "She's not dead, but rather has a different life now. Besides Ventus, she was a dweller of darkness. It's better that you are out of her grip."

Ventus nodded his head. He hadn't remembered much about the woman, but she was a dweller of darkness. Eraqus was right; if she had anything to do with darkness, then Ventus didn't need her anymore. That was probably part of the reason he wasn't near her anymore. "Sorry Master Eraqus. You're right. Thanks for listening though." Ventus smiled as he ran out the door. He was a little upset; he still wanted to meet the queen from his past. Even if he had to fight her, he still wanted to know.

Tsura ran out from behind the pillar to chase after Ventus, but Eraqus stopped her. "Did you remember something about your past too?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked at Eraqus, a frown glazed across her face. "Sadly no. You know more about Queen Kira than you told Ventus, don't you Master Eraqus?"

Eraqus chuckled. Even if Tsura wasn't as battle-oriented as the other three, she excelled with high wits and intelligent thinking. "I'm sorry Tsura. If he learns too much at once, we'll have a repeat of what happened when he first arrived. You may not believe me, but I want the best of all four of you. That's why sometimes I must protect the truth until you are ready."

Tsura turned to completely face Eraqus and bowed to him. "What… exactly happened to him?"

"It was before you arrived. Master Xehanort had brought him here, and both Terra and Aqua tried to talk to him. Unfortunately, they asked too many questions and his head couldn't take it. He collapsed under his own memories and fell unconscious for a few days. Finally he awoke, no recollection of his memories, only the fact that he had the potential to be a keyblade master. Ever since then, Aqua and Terra knew better than to bombard him with questions. That's why when you arrived, they didn't ask you anything about your past, for fear that the same would happen."

Tsura bowed again. "I'm sorry Master Eraqus. I had a sting in my heart, doubting you, but your intentions are good. I understand…" She sighed. "So if you know about Ven's past, does that mean…"

Eraqus placed a hand in front of him, attempting to stop Tsura before she asked. "I do. You'll remember with time. Sometimes not knowing is better than knowing the truth, and if I tell you everything, I fear what may happen."

Tsura cocked an eyebrow. He insinuated that she would probably go crazy, or collapse under her memories, but he had the best of intentions. She bowed again. "Thank you Master Eraqus. I'll take my leave." With that, Tsura left the room to join Aqua, Ventus, and Terra.

* * *

Terra and Aqua stood in front of Eraqus and his guest, Xehanort. Ventus and Tsura stood on the sidelines, waiting to watch their friends do the test. Eraqus began with the introduction.

"Today you both will be participating in the Mark of Mastery test to see if you are qualified to be keyblade masters. There are no winners; it is possible for both of you to succeed, and it is possible for both of you to fail. It is to see how you use your powers and if you can control them. Let us begin." Eraqus lifted his hands up and a number of light orbs appeared and floated in place. Originally they were supposed to destroy the still light orbs, but all of the sudden the orbs started to move. Aqua and Terra began hitting them; they attacked back, which shouldn't have happened. Eraqus was shocked at this, and as he tried to make them disappear, they wouldn't.

As Aqua and Terra began to take out the orbs one by one, an orb came charging at an unexpected Ventus. In an instant, Tsura ran in front of Ventus and blocked the orb with her keyblade; the orb disappeared upon contact with her weapon. More orbs came at Ventus and Tsura. Tsura continued to block the orbs while Ventus finally fought the orbs alongside Terra and Aqua. Eventually, all of the orbs had disappeared. Ventus and Tsura, both sighing, walked back to the sidelines.

"I'm not sure what has happened, but good work everyone. Now then, let the real test begin. Aqua, Terra, you must face each other."

Aqua and Terra stood a good distance apart, then after looking at one another, they charged into battle. They both seemed to be on equal grounds; parrying each other's attacks and flipping in the air to dodge the attacks. Terra summoned a small amount of dark power, but he made it go away very quickly. He couldn't believe his thoughts, but it came out anyway. He knew that would break him, but he still continued to try fighting Aqua.

After a while, Eraqus stood up and raised his hands. "Enough. We have come to a decision." Aqua and Terra stopped fighting and looked up at their master and his guest. "Aqua, Terra, you have both fought exemplarily, but only one of you has shown me the mark. Aqua, only you have proven to me that you are a keyblade master."

Aqua and Terra both widened their eyes. Tsura and Ventus sighed, sad to hear that Terra had failed as well. "I'm sorry Terra, but how can I make you keyblade master when you are so susceptible to the darkness? If I had it my way, I would name you one in a second, but for the sake of the worlds…" Eraqus walked closer to Terra.

"I understand. It was my own fault." Terra bowed and walked off.

"Terra!" Ventus ran to chase him down, then turned to look at Eraqus. "You'll see that Terra has what it takes to be a keyblade master. I know it!" With that he ran off.

"Terra! Ven!" Tsura called, then started to chase off after the two.

"Wait Tsura," Eraqus stopped the young girl. She turned around to look at Aqua and Eraqus.

Eraqus began to speak "I wanted to tell you Tsura… You have also received the mark."

Tsura's eyes widened as Aqua smiled at her. "Me? I wasn't even eligible… was I?"

Eraqus nodded. "It was embedded to you. I believe it's because you used the light to protect Ventus. That is why you have become a keyblade Master. You've shown me time and time again that you are reliable."

Eraqus then sighed to turn to Xehanort, but he was no longer there. Xehanort had disappeared for some reason.

"Master Eraqus… Where has Master Xehanort gone?" Aqua asked.

"That… is strange. He was just here." He sighed as he looked at the chair. Then his eyes widened. "I have received more news about the disappearing light!"

Aqua and Tsura widened their eyes as Tsura stood next to Aqua. "Master Eraqus, is it possible that Master Xehanort…" Tsura asked, not wanting to believe it, but she didn't like the way Xehanort felt.

"This is grave news indeed. Aqua, call Terra in here. It is our duty to protect the light." Eraqus called to them.

Aqua nodded then ran out to grab Terra. Tsura sighed and looked up at Eraqus. "What about Ventus, Master Eraqus?"

"Ventus needs to stay here. If he pursues this, his very being will be at a threat. You understand, don't you Tsura?"

She didn't want to understand it, but sadly she did. She understood it too perfectly. Tsura placed her hand on her chest and stared down. She then looked at Eraqus with a stern look. "Then allow me to stay here with Ven! I shouldn't have become a Master; Terra should have."

Eraqus placed a hand on his forehead. He didn't like this thought very much, but if it made the girl happy he didn't see why not. "Very well Tsura. You may stay here and protect Ventus. He can't escape this realm, no matter what."

Tsura nodded and bowed. "Understood Master Eraqus."

* * *

Terra kept hitting the training wheel with his keyblade, a little upset that he had succumbed to the darkness. He was so intent on it that he didn't even hear Aqua walking behind him until he had almost hit her with the keyblade.

"Ah! Terra, sorry I snuck up on you," Aqua was a little shocked. He looked at her and sighed, stabbing the ground with his keyblade.

"Sorry Aqua. I failed. I succumbed to the darkness, even if it was for a brief moment."

Aqua shook her head and placed a hand on one of Terra's shoulders. "It's not your fault. We're all susceptible to the darkness. I think Master Eraqus is going to give you another chance though. Which is why I'm here; he has an important mission for us."

The light in Terra's eyes seemed to lighten up as she said this. He was given a mission, and it would be a good way to prove himself to Eraqus. He smiled. "That's good. Although I fear what the mission may be…"

Aqua nodded. "But with us three, I'm sure we can do it."

"Three?" Terra thought it would be just Aqua and him. Even if someone else came, why would it be just one and not both Tsura and Ventus? He cocked an eyebrow at Aqua.

"Oh. Um… I don't know how to say this, but Tsura was also made into a Master…" She shook her head. "Bu-but knowing her, she'll probably just want to stay here to protect Ven." Aqua's face was slightly red and she waved her hands in front of her face. She forgot Terra didn't know.

Terra smirked. "She did? Good for her. Though I'd feel better if they both stayed here. Even if she's shown the mark, that doesn't mean she won't find her past out there. Something Master Eraqus probably wants to avoid."

Aqua sighed. She knew it was true. "Maybe… he wants her to find it out by herself. Ven is another story, because of his connection to Master Xehanort…" As she said that, she realized something was not right. Ventus had followed Terra outside, but wasn't anywhere to be found. "Where is Ven?" She asked.

"He wanted to spar with me, but I wasn't in the mood. I told him he should rest, because he's been working hard lately." It was clear Terra had been concerned about Ventus's wellbeing.

Aqua nodded. "I see. He does need rest." She smiled at Terra. "Anyway, we should go see Master Eraqus." Terra nodded and they both went back up the stairs to confirm their mission.

The two walked in and stood next to the still Tsura; all three facing Eraqus. "As you know, keyblade wielders help protect the light. The imbalance of pure light has caused a strange disturbance in the worlds. It is your mission to protect the light from the disturbance." Eraqus lifted his hand out in an open palm and a hologram of a strange black creature that sort of looked like a mouse with pointy ears popped up. Tsura's eyes shot wide open; she couldn't remember where, but she had seen those creatures before. Only Terra noticed her reaction. "These are the Unversed, creatures of dark that feed on negative feelings and emotions. They are trying to steal the light from all of the worlds. It is your mission to defeat these creatures to protect the light. Remember though, order must be kept in the worlds. No one must know that you are from another world."

The three of them nodded. Eraqus stepped down toward Terra and gave him a stern look. "Terra, think of this as a second chance to prove to me that you are worthy of being a master."

Terra nodded. "I won't let you down Master." With that, Terra walked out, ready to protect the light of the worlds. Aqua turned around to look toward Terra, ready to follow him, but was stopped by Eraqus.

"Wait Aqua. Before you leave I must tell you and Tsura something. Now that the two of you have become Masters, there is a secret only you two can know…" Aqua turned to stare at Eraqus, awaiting his secret.

* * *

Ventus had been sitting on his bed playing with a wooden keyblade Terra had given him when he first arrived. He was a little upset that Eraqus not only told him to forget about Kira, but that Terra hadn't become a keyblade Master. With a quick glance out his window, he noticed Terra running out of the building. Ventus jumped up and ran out of his room, trying to catch up with Terra.

"Terra!" He called out. As he did, Terra turned around and smiled at Ventus. He patted Ventus's head. "Terra, where are you going?"

"Ven, you need to stay here. I have to go; to become a keyblade Master." Terra smiled, and tapped the orb on his shoulder, transforming him into a suit of armor. He then threw his keyblade up in the air and it transformed into a sort of space bike. Terra hopped on it and flew into the sky, disappearing into a black portal.

"Terra!" Ventus called out to him, and then followed suit. He tapped his orb on his shoulder and transformed into a suit of armor. Then he threw his keyblade up and it transformed into a ship as well. He followed Terra into the portal.

Aqua ran out just in time to see Ventus disappearing into the portal. "Ven!" She called, though her voice did not reach him. Soon after Aqua witnessed Ventus disappearing, Tsura and Eraqus followed right behind her. Aqua turned to Eraqus with pleading eyes. "Master Eraqus, Ven is gone!"

Eraqus crossed his arms. "Troubling. Aqua, you need to find Ventus and bring him home. If he is ever to cross paths with Master Xehanort and… No, I don't want to think about it."

Aqua nodded. "I understand. I'll bring Ven home, and then I will prove to you that Terra has what it takes to be a keyblade Master!" Aqua ran to the middle of the field and tapped the orb on her arm, transforming her into a suit of armor. Just like Ventus and Terra, she threw her keyblade up in the air and it changed into a space glider. She flew into the sky through a dark portal as well, disappearing.

Tsura stared up, wide-eyed, at the display Aqua just pulled. She then looked at her own outfit and saw she had an orb in a similar place, which probably meant she could do the same thing. "Master Eraqus, allow me to look for Ven as well," she said quietly.

Eraqus sighed. "You wanted to stay here, what will I do if all four of you are gone?"

Tsura turned to look at him. "I wanted to stay to protect Ven! If I go out and bring him home, I can still do that! That way, Aqua can continue her mission of protecting the light and helping Terra find his own light!"

Eraqus smiled and sighed at the same time. Once again, Tsura was shown great intelligence and common sense in his eyes. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and stared her in the eyes. "Tell Aqua to continue her mission of protecting the light while you bring Ventus home."

Tsura nodded in excitement. She knew this journey had to be taken serious, but she was also excited to explore the worlds outside. She ran toward the center of the field and turned to Eraqus, waving toward him. "I'll bring him back in no time; you'll see! And once Terra comes back you'll know he has what it takes to be a keyblade Master!" She smiled and tapped her orb, the armor overwhelming her. The armor was a pale blue, but it formed to the shape of her body. She then threw her keyblade in the air and it transformed into a similar space glider like Terra's, Ventus's, and Aqua's. She jumped onto the glider and flew into the portal, chasing her three friends down as Eraqus gazed as his four pupils were now traveling the worlds.

_Chapter 2 End_

* * *

_*Secret Report 2 Unlocked: Terra's Journal Entry one_

_I…let myself succumb to the darkness, and because of that I was unable to fully become a keyblade Master. I let myself and everyone else down when I didn't mean to; Aqua, Master Eraqus, Ven, and Tsura. Tsura still hates me for the way I pushed myself on her the other day, and I don't blame her. It wasn't like me to do something so rash, but at that moment... I felt like that was the last time I would see her for a while. I wanted her to know how I felt, even if it felt too strong._

_I've been meaning to apologize to her, but I just haven't had the time, and now here we are on separate missions. If I find her, that'll be my first objective. I know protecting the light is important, but to me, making sure Tsura is well protected is my way of protecting the light._

_Because that's what she is to me; My Tsura. My... light of dawn._


	4. Chapter 3 - A New World

**Chapter 3: A New World**

Tsura rode her glider through the lanes between, the pathways between worlds, seeing if she could spot Ventus, or anyone else for that matter. Unfortunately she didn't, but instead spotted a strange creature flying in the distance. She thought it may be an Unversed, so she sped up to try and catch it. When she got closer, she was surprised to see that it did not attack her. Instead, a voice sounded through her head.

"We have been waiting for you, our liege…"

She held her head; the voice pierced through and she didn't like the feeling it gave at all. When she tried to get closer to the creature, a high-pitched, piercing sound rang through her head. Before she knew what was going on, she had fallen unconscious and her glider transformed back into a keyblade. Tsura and her keyblade fell down to the closest world. It was a dark, desolate world that seemed to have a war raging on.

* * *

It was a dark world where technology had seemed to prosper for a long time. The sky was covered in smoke and there were neon lights lit all over the place. There were people arguing over the littlest of things, and even people breaking out into physical fights. This place was filled with darkness. How fitting of a place for Terra to come to first. He walked keyblade in hand, to find the Unversed and protect the light. Though in this world, it seemed as though there would be no light to protect. Just when he thought there was no hope for this planet, he noticed an oddly bright sparkle in the midst of all the darkness. He ran toward it and he saw a young, pink haired girl with a bow and arrow in hand, fighting off strange creatures that were not Unversed. She was doing a good job fighting them off, but the creatures kept on appearing out of nowhere and it was clear she was getting worn out. Terra charged at one that tried to sneak up on the young girl and it disappeared with a flash of his keyblade. The girl stared at him and nodded; no words were needed for they knew exactly what was going on. The two continued to fight until eventually there were no more creatures that arrived. The girl sighed and fell on her knees, exhausted from the fighting.

"Thank you," She said to Terra, smiling. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It's nothing. It's my job to protect the light. By the way, what were those creatures?" Terra asked. He knew it was probably common knowledge among residents of this world, but he needed to know.

The girl smiled and chuckled. "What parts are you from? Everyone knows about the Layns. They're creatures that were genetically engineered for the war, and now they have gone mad." She stood up and brushed herself off, and then she made her bow disappear. "Only the humans who have any kind of power back up the Layns, and for everyone else… well, unfortunately we're stuck in an everlasting battle with them." She sighed, then held her fist firmly in the air. "We don't give up hope though. There is always a way to retrieve that lost hope we once had." She chuckled. "That's what a very good friend of mine always says. By the way, I'm Serah."

"A very good friend? Is that all I am?" A man's voice could be heard from behind the rubble to the right. The rubble fell and revealed a blonde man with a black hat and a white coat. He walked closer to Serah and Terra. "Sorry I was late. I had my handful of trouble along the way."

Serah chuckled and blushed. "A little more than a very good friend, but it's still embarrassing." The man put his arm around Serah and chuckled.

"Nothing embarrassing about it! The name's Snow. Thanks for saving Serah. Haven't seen you around before. You new here?"

Terra nodded. It was hard to hide the fact that he wasn't from around here. "The name is Terra. I fight to protect the light. Serah is very determined, you're lucky you two have each other." Terra smiled, thinking about the people he left behind. About Ventus, Aqua, and lastly Tsura. The last time him and Tsura actually had time alone wasn't very pleasant, and he wasn't really able to properly apologize to her. Now who knew how long it would be before he was able to see her again. He sighed. "Are the Layns the only creatures here?"

Serah nodded, but Snow shook his head. Serah gave him a confused look. "They're fairly new though, but they're the reason I was delayed. They were dark creatures; some looked like mutated mice but pure black in color. I'd never seen anything like them before."

Terra's eyes widened and ran to where Snow had come from, forming his keyblade from thin air. "Unversed!" Terra turned back toward Snow and Serah and nodded toward them. "Thank you!" He didn't even give them a chance to say anything else as he ran to fight the Unversed.

"Hey! Come on, I wanted to know about your weapon…" Snow called out, realizing that Terra couldn't hear him. "He was interesting; looked like someone your sister would be into."

Serah chuckled. "Stop teasing her. Besides, that's the last thing on her mind, especially with what's going on in this world. I have a feeling we're going to see Terra again though."

Snow pulled Serah closer and smiled, as they walked toward where Terra had originally come from in the world.

Terra walked past the rubble and witnessed more of the destruction in this world. What was once a prosperous city was now rubble and torn to pieces. A war for humanity raged on, and it made Terra a little upset. In their world it was peaceful every day, but here they had to live each day as though it were their last. The distance seemed so little to him; he wanted to know more about the creatures that occupied this world. As he walked around the world, a Layn at appeared in front of him. Before he was even able to pull out his weapon, a sword crashed through the creature, causing it to disappear. Terra's eyes widened as he looked up to see who did the damage. A young girl with pink hair and a red cape stood on the remains of a building just above Terra. She jumped down flawlessly and landed straight on her feet; she grabbed the sword and it retracted to a smaller weapon that she attached to her back. She stared directly at Terra with a cold stare; this girl looked almost exactly like Serah, but with a seemingly permanent scowl on her face.

Before Terra could even get a word out, the girl pulled her blade out and pointed it at Terra. "Who are you? Do you work for Cavian?"

Terra cocked an eyebrow. Cavian? Who was that? He didn't have any answers. "I don't know who Cavian is."

The girl's eyes widened as she put away her blade. "Is that true? Are you from this world then? Everyone knows Cavian." Her eyes pierced through Terra.

He was at a loss of words. Did she figure it out so soon? Eraqus had told him not to let others know about other worlds and to keep the balance. Yet, what was he supposed to do when occupants of another world had a feeling that there were more worlds out there? Terra shook his head. He was going to try to feign ignorance, but before that a voice called to the girl.

"Claire!" A voice came from behind the two, and they both looked to see where it had come from. A fluff of white hair came from behind the rubble, as well as a bob of pink hair. A young boy in and a young girl came out from the rubble, the voice belonging to one of them. The girl came running out and grabbed Claire's arm; her hair was pink with curled pigtails, and she wore a strange scantily styled outfit. "Don't pick fights with unknown people. We all are just trying to survive." The girl smiled and bowed to Terra. "My name is Vanille. The feisty one is Claire, and the little one is Hope," she said as she pointed to the white haired boy behind her. "We're fighting for the light."

Terra's eyes widened and placed a hand on his chest. "I'm fighting to protect the light. So then, you too are holding on to that lost hope?"

Vanille cocked her head and put a finger to her cheek in thought. "Did you meet someone else here?"

Terra nodded. "Snow and Serah were their names. They said that there were a number of people that were fighting for the light." He looked at the three of them and nodded. "I imagine that was you."

Claire stood in front of Vanille. "Serah? Where did she go?" It was clear they all knew each other.

Terra pointed past him to show them the way. "Just past here. They seemed to be okay though." He smiled at Claire as she sighed.

"There's still something that must be done here." Claire frowned after she said this and looked at Terra. "I want to know more about you and that weird weapon. You're coming with us to find Cavian."

Terra sighed. There was no way he could say no to this situation, and from the looks of it this Cavian was the source of the war and the Layns. If he could stop Cavian, there would probably be a way to stop the darkness; at least on this planet. Hope then walked closer to Terra and stared up at him with big eyes. "It's okay if you're from another world. Maybe that's just the kind of hope we're looking for."

Terra was shocked from the boy's words. The people of this world were smart. Terra smiled; the boy kind of reminded him of Ventus. Terra would protect this world as a stepping stone to protect the light; and to prove to Eraqus that he could be a keyblade master. Terra patted Hope's head and smiled at the three. "The name's Terra. I fight to protect the light. Claire, lead the way."

Claire frowned and turned in a huff, leading the three to where she was going in the first place; to Cavian's castle.

* * *

Tsura lied against a torn up car that no longer ran, holding her keyblade tightly. Her eyes looked as though they were hollowed out, as several memories tried to force their way in. Why did the creature call her its liege? Was there something on this particular world that would help Tsura recall her lost memories? She saw visions of a world with many islands and a beautiful sea, and a beautiful woman with long silver hair in a Victorian dress. Was she related to that woman? Was that woman the Queen Kira Ventus had mentioned? She had more questions than answers, and she couldn't break out of the trance she was in.

Finally she saw a vision where Ventus appeared in front of her. Her eyes came back to full color as she called to him, "Ventus!" She screamed, holding her keyblade out in front of her. She then shook her head, realizing that it was just a dream, or perhaps a memory. Tsura sighed and set her keyblade down when she realized Ventus wasn't anywhere in sight. She then heard footsteps coming toward her, so she quickly stood up and readied herself. What appeared to be a young couple walked toward Tsura and stopped; the man looked cheery, but the girl looked concerned.

The girl smiled as she looked at the weapon Tsura was carrying, and she walked up to Tsura, bowing while placing her hands behind her back. "You have that weapon too? We just saw someone with a similar weapon not too long ago, isn't that right Snow?" The girl said, looking back at Snow. Snow nodded; this was Serah and Snow, the two who had found Terra not too long ago.

Tsura's eyes widened. It could have been Terra, Aqua, or Ventus that was here with her. At this point, she just wanted to find one of them; it didn't matter who. "Re-really? Was it a boy or a girl? Where did he go?" She didn't give them much time to answer.

Snow stepped to Serah's side and smiled at Tsura. "Woah woah, hold on a second. Let us answer first." Tsura blushed as she shut her mouth and let Snow continue. "It was a man. He said his name was Terra. I'm guessing you know each other?"

Tsura's eyes brightened up. In reality she wished it was either Ventus or Aqua so her mission would be that easier, but Terra was a good sign too. "That's good! So Terra is here too…" She felt herself smile.

Serah nodded. "He went the way we came from. He said it was his mission to protect the light," she said this as she pointed toward where Terra had come from. "By the way, my name is Serah and this is Snow."

Tsura nodded and gripped her keyblade tight. "The name's Tsura. So, what's up with this place? It's pretty desolate…"

Both Snow and Serah chuckled slightly at Tsura's remark. "We're at a never-ending war with creatures called Layns. They are a faulty experiment, and now this world is ruled by an evil man named Cavian," Serah said, smiling at the girl.

Cavian. When Serah said the name, Tsura's eyes widened and her head throbbed. Did she know him? She couldn't remember, but maybe it was fate that had sent her to this world. Sent her to this world to find Cavian; perhaps he knew about her past. She held her head and then looked at the two in front of her. "Where were you two going?" She asked them, trying to hold in the pain in her head.

Snow smiled and patted Tsura's head. "We were looking for some people, but ended up finding you. Anyway, this way is a dead end unless you know where you're going… Which, lucky for you, Serah and I know exactly where to go." He smirked and started to walk past Tsura, Serah following closely behind. Tsura turned around and started to follow them as well.

"Will this way lead to Cavian?" Tsura asked. She didn't know who he was, but his name sent chills down her spine.

"Most likely. The person we're looking for is probably on her way right now to face him," Snow stated, not looking behind him.

Serah nodded and chuckled. "She can be quite reckless at times, though it has saved us many times before…"

"Yeah yeah, that's her all right. Reckless, but a kind heart all the same," Snow chuckled with Serah.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Serah smiled. "She'll probably cut you down."

Tsura slowly tagged along as Serah and Snow talked about their friends; it almost made her jealous. Even if it wasn't Ventus, the drive to see Terra even more grew inside Tsura. In fact, she wanted to apologize about the last time they were alone, even if she didn't see him the same way he saw her. She shook her head thinking about it; those feelings meant nothing compared to their mission, so it was pointless to even think like that. All that mattered was that the light was protected and that Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and Tsura stayed together forever.

* * *

Her armor disappeared as soon as she landed on the world. This world was cold and rainy, and there stood a giant clock tower in the middle of a busy town. The town seemed to have markets all around selling various items, and people could hardly get through without running into someone else. The rain didn't stop the customers or businessmen at all. Aqua had never seen anything like it before. She made her keyblade disappear and walked to where all the business was happening.

She could barely make her way through the crowd, but she was able to see that there was more than just a busy market happening; a show was being put on. Aqua noticed what appeared to be a group of traveling musicians were playing music and doing magic tricks; it was a little exciting. In the middle was a young black haired woman dancing to the music; the music came from a small ukulele from a black haired man, and there was also an older man playing a drum. The crowd was getting excited. Eventually, Aqua caught the eyes of the woman and the woman smiled at her; she pulled Aqua in and began to dance with her. Everyone knew Aqua wasn't from this city just by looking at her, but they didn't know she wasn't from this world. They all thought she was part of the act; a gypsy as they were called. Aqua danced with the black haired woman while the music picked up tempo, but then a siren was heard. The crowd broke apart and the gypsies stopped everything they were doing and started to gather their things.

"Wa-wait, what's going on? Why'd we stop?" Aqua was confused.

"No time. Jump in the carriage and we'll explain on the way," The girl said, offering Aqua her hand. Aqua took it, but before she was able to jump in the carriage, something shot at her causing her to let go of the woman's hand. A force of men came charging around Aqua, as well as Unversed and other strange creatures. Aqua quickly stood up and summoned her keyblade, ready to defend herself and the gypsies. The Unversed came charging at her, and she swiftly took them out with smooth swifts of her blade. When all the Unversed were taken out, the men started to get closer to her with their strange creatures.

Aqua felt hesitant to fight the humans, but she would have to defend herself.

"That's enough!" A voice from behind the crowd of men called from behind, and the men stepped to the side to allow room for the voice. Slowly a man dressed in what appeared to be military uniform with a sword attached to his hip came walking toward Aqua. He had smooth black hair that was about the same length as Aqua's. When he stepped in front of her, he saluted her and smiled. "Is it… really you?"

Aqua cocked her eyebrow. She was confused at his words; she had never seen him before.

"That's okay. After what happened a year ago, your memories are probably all fuzzy. Don't worry my liege; with time you'll remember and understand." The man bowed and looked toward his men. "Leave these gypsies alone! They harbor a very special guest!" The men formed in lines and left to where they came from. Then the man smiled at Aqua. "Only my liege would carry such a weapon as yours, and have that cheerful personality that you do. My name is Canon, one of your loyal servants. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Those gypsies used to cause trouble by stealing from the rich, but if you're with them I'm sure they can't be all that bad." He bowed again and left, leaving a very confused Aqua.

The woman from the carriage jumped out and held her hand to Aqua. "I don't believe it. You know Canon? And you were able to get us free from their oppression." She smiled and bowed. "My name is Esmeralda. This is my band of traveling gypsies. Alan plays the ukulele, and Jorje plays the drum. May we ask your company?"

Esmeralda was very kind to the extremely confused Aqua. Aqua wasn't about to admit that she had no idea who that person was, because she wasn't sure who could hear her. Aqua nodded and took the gypsy's hand. Esmeralda pulled Aqua into the carriage with her, and Jorje whipped the horse to get it to move. "My name is Aqua," Aqua said as she tried to keep her balance in the moving carriage. "Could you tell me a little more about this place?"

Esmeralda nodded and smiled. "This is a town that prospers on free market. Many salespeople set up shop to make a living. We're a very free community, and our guardian is that clock tower in the middle of everything." Esmeralda peeled open the curtain of the carriage and pointed to the clock tower that Aqua had originally seen when she first arrived. Esmeralda continued to speak. "There is a man who rings the bell named Quasimodo, and he is also protected by the three gargoyles on the top of the tower. Many people are scared of Quasimodo because of his deformities, but as gypsies we believe the true beauty lies within."

Aqua smiled at Esmeralda's words; they couldn't have rang more true than they already did. Aqua then looked at Esmeralda as they passed the tower. "What about Canon? Who is he?"

"He's another strange one that seemed to have come from a different world. He brought along strange creatures with him after the lord Frollo died from a terminal illness." Esmeralda sighed. "Frollo was a terrible man, but Canon... scares us."

Aqua shifted her gaze. The boy she had previously seen didn't seem all that bad, but maybe that was the problem. Before she could ask more about Canon, she heard a small groaning sound from within the carriage. The two girls closed the curtain and went toward the sound.

"Looks like the young boy woke up..." Alan said, smiling as he lifted a young blonde boy to sit up.

Aqua's eyes widened as she ran to the boy. "Ven!" She called and she took him from Alan's hands. "Ven... You're okay...?"

Ventus's eyes appeared to be hollowed out as he blankly stared at Aqua's face. Aqua stroked his cheek, a little solemn. "What... happened? Where did you find him?"

"Not long before we performed, we found this boy laying in the field holding a similar weapon to yours. Unfortunately he wasn't conscious when we found him. We've been trying to give him numerous medicines, but nothing has worked. I take it you know him?" Alan asked Aqua as she tried to get Ventus to wake up.

Aqua nodded. "Yes, we're friends." Her eyes widened. Ventus was here, did that mean Tsura and Terra were here too? She looked around to see if they had found others, but none that she could see. "Was he the only one?"

Esmeralda nodded as she sat next to Aqua. "That was all. Were there more? Did you all come together?"

"We left one after the other, so it would make sense if they were somewhere completely different... but I had hoped..." Aqua shook her head. "Oh Ven, what happened to you?"

After Aqua held Ventus closer, his eyes became more clear. He looked at her and she embraced him in a hug. "A-Aqua? What happened?"

She let go of Ventus and smiled. "I don't know. What happened to you Ven? After you left I followed, and I happened to end up in the same world as you... only to find you in this state." Aqua shook her head and then turned solemn. "Ven... you have to go home."

"I can't Aqua... not until I see Terra again. There's something out here... that we have to stop."

"There's something out here that you won't be able to handle Ven. I can't put you in harm's way..."

"But it's okay for Tsura to be out here?" It was clear Ventus didn't want to go back, but Aqua didn't know what else to do. She wasn't sure if it really was safe for Tsura to be left out, but Eraqus only ordered for Ventus to be brought home. It was definitely worse for him than it was for Tsura.

"Ven... please..." Before Aqua could finish, the carriage hit a bump and made a halting stop. Aqua fell almost on top of Ventus, but she kept herself up with her keyblade.

"What was that Jorje?" Alan exclaimed as Esmeralda jumped out to see what was happening. Soon after, her scream was heard. Aqua jumped out of the carriage to see who it was, with Ventus and Alan following close behind. A soldier that had been under Canon's command held Esmeralda in a hold, a dagger next to her throat.

Aqua and Ventus both readied their keyblades, but Aqua tried to see if she could convince the soldier. "What are you doing? Didn't Canon order you to not mess with us?" Aqua's face was solemn as she tried to give the death glare to the soldier.

The soldier laughed. "You actually believed him? He'd do anything to bring you closer to him, even if it meant lying to set up this trap. You must have really forgotten him, huh?"

Aqua tried to keep her cool, but the way this man was talking was annoying her. She finally understood what Esmeralda had meant when she stated Canon scared her. The beautiful, childish, and joyful face he put on was most likely nothing more than a lie to hide his true intentions. Plus he claimed Aqua knew him, but she didn't remember. She had a good memory; she swore she had lived in the Land of Departure with Eraqus and Terra her whole life, but was that a lie? Were her memories false too? She shook her head. "What is he trying to do?"

"I'll just be taking this young gypsy hostage. If you don't come... _alone..._then... well, I'd just hate to see what will happen to her..." The soldier said this as he pressed the knife closer to Esmeralda's neck.

Ventus gripped his keyblade and readied to charge at the man. "We won't let that happen!" He called and ran toward the man. Before Ventus's keyblade could hit him, he disappeared and then reappeared on top of the carriage, startling Jorje. Alan's eyes widened and went into the carriage. Soon, Unversed and other strange creatures appeared around Aqua and Ventus. The soldier laughed with Esmeralda still in his arm.

"Go on Gypsy. Take us to Sir Canon. If you don't follow..." The man shot a gun next to Jorje and the horse, causing Jorje to whip the horse and go toward Canon's keep; an old cathedral on the far end of the hill.

"Wait!" Aqua called, but was stopped by the creatures. "No time I guess. All right Ven, let's do this!"

"Right Aqua!" Standing side by side, Ventus and Aqua began fighting the Unversed and other strange creatures.

After what seemed to be an endless battle, the creatures finally stopped appearing, but it was too late. The carriage was far gone, and neither one of them had any idea where Canon's keep was. Aqua smiled at Ventus, then gave him a solemn look. "Ven. Go home. I'll handle Canon and protect Esmeralda. After all, he wants to see _me_ alone..."

Ven sighed as he let his keyblade disappear. "Not a chance Aqua. I want to know... The truth that everyone seems to know about you." Aqua's eyes widened at this comment. Ever since she came to this world, she had been treated like a queen with memories she didn't even know. Did that mean her memories had been tampered with? Or did they mistake her for another woman? She'd be lying to say that it didn't bother her, but she didn't want to involve Ventus.

"Ven, sometimes not knowing is better than knowing the truth. What will my truth reveal to you?" She tried to use different words to tell him that he needed to go home.

Ventus smiled. "From the sounds of it Aqua," he ran past her and started to go down toward the clock tower. He then turned around and waved at Aqua. "It sounds like you're a queen from long ago!" After he said this, he ran off, probably going to seek help in town. He probably knew about the gargoyles and Quasimodo.

Aqua's eyes widened as she held her hand to her heart; was this true? Ventus had mentioned a queen named Kira from his memories, but she was supposed to have been gone. Completely gone; or was that just a lie? Ventus had given the implication that Canon was treating Aqua as though she were Queen Kira, but her memories failed her. She had lived with Terra and Eraqus in the Land of Departure all her life; her feelings and memories of Terra wouldn't lie to her. She had to confirm the truth for herself. She sighed; she should have followed Ventus, but she instead went in the direction of the carriage. While Ventus was getting help, she would stop Canon and solve her own past before Ventus could get involved in harm's way.

_Chapter 3 End_

* * *

_*Secret report 3 Unlocked: Aqua's Journal Entry one_

_This place is gloomy and cold, but it seems to be prosperous and the gypsies I met seem to be kind. What really bothers me the most about this place is a man named Canon who is convinced he knows me. My memories take me way back since I was around five, and I've always been with Master Eraqus and Terra. I don't have a dark, unknown past like Ven and Tsura._

_At least that's what I've always believed._

_Yet just meeting Canon stirred strange things in my head that I can't define; are my memories real? Or have they been tampered with by an occupant of darkness? Before Ven left, he implied that I was being treated like a queen._

_I think he believes I am the missing Queen Kira from his memories, but my memories are valid, aren't they? Just simply meeting Canon made me doubt my own existence... Could I be Ven's Kira from his past? I must know this._

_Terra, I miss you more than I ever thought I would. Where are you now? I hope you found Tsura. I want to know the truth about Queen Kira. From what I can tell, either Tsura or I am this lost queen._

_I really want to see you Terra._


	5. Chapter 4 - Forgotten Memories

**Chapter 4: Forgotten Memories**

Claire and Terra stood at the bottom of the only building that still seemed to be in tact; Cavian's castle. Vanille and Hope had met up with two others; a black-haired woman named Fang and a darker man named Sazh. The four had decided to go around to see if they could find a back entrance while Terra and Claire charged in from the front. Terra looked at Claire and nodded; Claire nodded back and the two barged in the front door, almost expecting a huge army of Layns to surround them. Nothing. In fact, it was rather quiet. Claire and Terra both held their weapons tightly, being cautious for any ambushes that might occur. Nothing. Terra let out a sigh of relief as he loosened up; Claire continued to stay stiff as a rock.

Some rubble from the second floor came crumbling below, causing Terra to put his guard back on. Though what came out was of no threat; Serah and Snow had arrived from the balcony of the second floor. Serah leaned over the railing and waved down at Claire. "Claire! Oh, and Terra! That's great!" She smiled at the two while Snow waved at them. He then looked behind him to make sure their guest had made it.

The young silver-haired girl came in from behind Serah and Snow and her eyes widened when she saw Terra, though she wasn't sure what she should say. Terra's eyes widened as he saw Tsura, slightly hiding behind Snow, but it was definitely her. "Tsura! So, you came here too?"

She didn't want to say a word to Terra, but in the current situation she couldn't let her personal feelings get the better of her. She peeked out behind Snow and gave a fake smile to Terra. "Yeah, to protect the light. Something led me here, and now I realized that Cavian..." She shook her head and placed her hands on her chest. "...Might have something to do with my past."

Everyone's eyes widened when Tsura said this. The fact that she may have had a connection with Cavian at all concerned Claire. Claire pointed her blade at Tsura, shocking Snow and Serah. "Have you two been harboring a spy this whole time?" Claire didn't mess around, especially when it came to Cavian.

Snow stood in front of Tsura with a hand guarding her, and Serah stood in front of Snow. Terra grabbed Claire's arm and forced her to pull her weapon down. "Tsura isn't a spy. Trust us Claire," Terra practically begged Claire to put the weapon down. Even if she didn't, Serah and Snow would have stood in her way.

Claire sighed. "Whatever. As long as Cavian is taken down, I could care less who's on our side." She scowled as she folded her weapon and placed it on her back. She started up the stairs to meet up with Serah and Snow. Serah smiled and hugged Claire as Claire reached the top of the stairs.

"Claire! I was worried you had gone and done a suicide mission." Serah was happy to see Claire.

"Feh," Claire looked away shyly and pushed her way through Serah and Snow. "I wouldn't up and die until I made sure Snow kept you happy..." She said, hoping no one heard her, but everyone except for Terra did. Serah chuckled and followed Claire into the main hall of the second floor. Snow stayed behind with Tsura and Terra.

Snow gently tapped Tsura's back and smiled, pulling her close. "We know you have a mission to take care of, but the way you and Terra are looking each other..." He leaned in closer. "Look, some things just have to be taken care of sooner than later, catch my drift? That's why we're going to leave you and Terra alone and take care of Cavian ourselves; you two clearly have things to talk about." He chuckled and tapped her back as he followed Serah. "Terra, good to see you again. Don't worry, we'll take care of Cavian!" He winked at them as he entered the hall.

Tsura's face turned red as she looked at Snow. "He-hey! I have to meet Cavian! Do you hear me?" By now she was clenching her fists. Her feelings didn't matter; only the truth about her past. Terra was still on the first floor, staring up at Tsura as the others went into the inner realm of the castle. She hesitantly turned around to look at Terra; she was a little happy that someone else was here, but not necessarily happy that she had tried to forget how cold she was to him before... and how he treated her before. She had tried to ignore it during the mark of mastery, and she thought it had worked, but now here they were, alone, in the midst of a battlefield. If they tried to go on without talking, Tsura knew Snow would stop her. He was the type that believed in feelings over anything else.

"Tsura... I..." Terra started as he looked up at her.

""I'm sorry..."" Both of them said it at the same time, which caused them both to widen their eyes.

"I shouldn't have pushed myself on you like that," Terra began, clearly regretting his decision.

Tsura shook her head. "You just...wanted to protect me. Is that so bad? I took offense to that only because..." She sighed and lowered her head. "Probably because it wasn't Ven..."

Terra widened his eyes again. He had known all along Tsura's real feelings when it came to him and Ventus, but he still tried, because he believed Ventus was too young for such emotions. He gave a soft smile and shook his head. With no words, he slowly walked up the stairs to Tsura. She took a couple steps back from him, a little scared. She found herself trembling; here, in the midst of a war zone, in a castle in which she was about to find something about her past, and _this _is what she was trembling about. Her friend getting close to her scared her, because it wasn't Ventus. Tsura closed her eyes as Terra got closer. He wrapped his hand on her face on her cheek; he pulled her head and placed it against his chest, caressing her hair. She still didn't open her eyes. He placed his lips on her head and whispered to her.

"Maybe I'm not the one you want, but at least in the time being, will you let me protect you? You can shove me to the side and beat me down all you want, just allow me to be your guardian..." He held her close and wouldn't let her go. Tsura couldn't help herself; tears began to fall down from her eyes. If she could control her feelings, maybe it would be easier to give up on Ventus and pour her heart out to Terra. But she couldn't do it; especially for the sake of her dear friend Aqua, who was practically in love with Terra.

After a few moments, Tsura gently pushed herself off of Terra and revealed her tear-filled face. He brushed the tears off with his hands and smiled at her. She rubbed the remains off with her sleeve and smiled at Terra. "What are we doing here? We can't let them have all the fun. Besides, when I first heard Cavian's name, sudden memories came rushing through me. I couldn't keep track of any of them though, that's why I..."

Terra placed his hands on her shoulders. "No matter what you find out about your past, you're still our Tsura. Understand?"

Tsura nodded. "Yeah of course." She fiddled on her belt and pulled out her wayfinder and smiled at Terra. "The four of us will always be together." Terra nodded and the two headed to the main room; hopefully to see Cavian.

When Terra and Tsura entered, Claire was in the middle of a fight with a silver-haired man who wore somewhat of a black suit on the third floor. The man had a sword and him and Claire were clashing like no other. Snow and Serah were fighting Layns on the second floor, and on the fourth floor above Claire and the man's fight was everyone else, fighting Layns. Terra ran to help Snow and Serah; Snow smiling at Terra. "What, done already?"

Terra's face turned a little red. "What, you thought we'd leave you to die here? I doubt you could've handled this yourselves."

"Hey, we've got a whole crew to deal with... although those weapons of yours' seem to do a lot more damage to these creatures," Snow chuckled as he continued to fight the monsters, Terra fighting alongside him.

Tsura looked on the sort of skinny catwalk on the third floor on which Claire was fighting the man. Tsura ran up to help Claire, though she doubted Claire would accept her help very much. When Tsura reached the top of the stairs, she caught a quick glimpse of the man's eyes. One eye was gold and the other red, and when she looked into his eyes, memories started to try and flow into her. Tsura held her head as they tried to overwhelm her.

The man stopped moving and put his sword away, leaving an opening for Claire. As she tried to charge at him, he stuck his hand in between him and Claire, blocking her off from him. She flew back and did a flip in the air, landing on her feet. He could not however attack him because of the temporary barrier he placed around himself.

He smiled toward Tsura as he walked toward her. "Well, now that's a face I wouldn't have expected to see for a while." Claire stopped in her tracks. Her suspicions of Tsura were growing higher by the moment. The man grabbed Tsura's neck and lifted her up, causing her pain. He investigated her thoroughly, as though to confirm it was someone he meant to harm. "If you're here, dressed like that, then it really is true..." He sighed. "You really have lost all your memories." Tsura's eyes widened as she clasped her hands around the man's arm. It could only mean that this man was more than likely Cavian.

Terra, seeing Tsura being held in a choke-hold, stopped fighting the creatures with Snow and Serah and ran to save her from Cavian's grip. With Cavian's free hand he blocked Terra's attack and sent Terra against the wall. "Terra!" Tsura called, but Cavian's grip tightened. The Unversed and Layns vanished and all eyes laid on Cavian, though nothing could be done.

"I wonder, if I just tighten a little more, will your memories come back to you? I really, _really _don't want to hurt you, my liege..." Tsura's eyes widened when he said this; he had called her the same thing that the creature that lead her hair did. This meant something; was Tsura an important figure that she didn't know about? Even so, she wouldn't want to have been a leader to people like Cavian. His grip tightened and she shut her eyes tight, hoping it would all go away.

Before she knew it, Snow had used some sort of massive energy charge and gave it to Terra, making Terra charge right through Cavian's hold on Tsura. Cavian's grip had loosened and Tsura fell to the ground, gasping and coughing for air. Cavian smirked and held his arm as he looked at Terra. "Ahh, that's good. Different than the other boy, but the darkness runs deep in you," Cavian smiled.

"Shut up! The darkness doesn't run deep. I'll prove that to you!" Terra could feel hatred boiling up, but he tried to suppress it so the darkness wouldn't show itself.

Claire was now able to make an attack on Cavian, so she charged and landed a blow on his arm. Cavian swiftly pulled out his blade, not even feeling damaged from Claire's attack. On the other side, Terra charged at Cavian with his keyblade, but Cavian was able to grab Terra's keyblade with one hand, and fend off Claire with his other. He was being attacked at on both sides, but Cavian still appeared to have the advantage.

While Claire and Terra had their hands full with Cavian, Tsura tried to stand up, but she was still having trouble breathing from the choke-hold. Snow ran up to Tsura and helped her up. "You're in no condition to fight Tsura. Let us handle it."

Tsura shook her head. "I think...Somehow, it's my fault Cavian became the way he did. Even though I don't remember it, I'm sure it had to do with me."

Snow scowled. "That's a faulty memory. Even if you knew him, the only one at fault is himself. So don't push yourself too hard. We'll handle it." Snow smile and put his hand on his chest, as though saying to Tsura that he would handle it.

Claire's weapon had been knocked out of her hand and Cavian had placed his blade close to her neck. Before he could finish Claire, he turned to deal with Terra. Claire tried to get her weapon, but she had been beaten up pretty badly. Serah followed Snow up the stairs, though she couldn't very well go past Cavian and Terra to heal Claire. The group on the fourth floor was trapped through bars; bars that Cavian had placed before Tsura had showed up.

Tsura walked slowly past Snow and Serah, wanting to stop Cavian and Terra from fighting. Tsura summoned her keyblade and slowly walked to the fight. Cavian and Terra were almost on equal terms, fighting each other with similar moves. "Succumb to the darkness. You will be a powerful resident of it."

"Never! Nothing good will come of it!" Terra yelled back as he continued to fight Cavian. Then Tsura thrusted her keyblade in between Terra and Cavian, causing the fight to stop. Cavian put his sword away, and kissed the tip of Tsura's keyblade, caressing it.

Tsura's eyes widened at this strange gesture, and Terra didn't fight back because Tsura was in the way. "That's good my liege. You want to know the truth?"

"My past means nothing compared to the safety of these people and the safety of the light," Tsura was determined to stop Cavian, but she wanted to do it herself.

Cavian laughed at this. "Haha. I never thought I would hear you care about the light! Don't you understand? You belong with me in the darkness," He smiled as his hand got closer to the hilt of Tsura's keyblade.

"Never. I would never go into the realm of darkness with you, or anyone. I want to know the truth, but now I know it's not as important as protecting my friends!" Tsura yelled as she attempted to stab Cavian with her keyblade; he jumped in the air and out of the way, landing gracefully on his feet.

"This world is doomed anyway. Everyone who lives here will perish soon," Cavian smiled. Claire stood up and glared at Cavian. Serah was now able to reach Claire and cure her some, although it wasn't enough to stand up to Cavian. Snow walked slowly and stood in front of Tsura and Terra, as though he would protect them from Cavian.

"Only if they give up hope. Like hell that'll happen here though," Snow smiled as he pointed toward Cavian. Snow nodded at Serah and Claire. "Look, leave this to me. You two figure out a way to save Vanille and the others. Terra, Tsura, you should probably go back to the world where you came from. This won't be pretty."

"What do you think you're doing Snow? You can't just barge in here and sacrifice yourself! Let me be the sacrifice!" Tsura cried, but felt the tug of Terra's hand on her arm.

Claire pointed at Snow. "Like you don't have anything to live for. Let me be the hero for once, so you can stay and protect my sister!" Serah shifted her gaze between both Claire and Snow, not wanting to lose either one of them.

Cavian laughed at their debate. "It doesn't matter to me, because soon enough you'll all be gone. Well except for you, my liege," he smiled at Tsura when he said this, then his eyes began to glow along with a dark aura surrounding him.

"The name is Tsura! I don't know what I am to you, but that's who I've always been!" Tsura glared at him. She wasn't about to let anyone become a sacrifice, so she forced out of Terra's grip and jumped to Cavian. A light aura emerged around Tsura and it clashed with the dark aura of Cavian. Tsura's eyes began to glow as well.

"Well, you've definitely grown stronger. The secluded little girl you used to be is now a master of light? What a cruel turn of events," Cavian chuckled as he continued to hold his barrier up in front of Tsura. "You want to know your past? Then stop fighting it and come with me." As he said this, his barrier vanished and he embraced Tsura, causing her to drop her keyblade. An explosion should have occurred, but Tsura was able to somehow suppress it.

Within an instant, Snow jumped up and pulled Tsura away from Cavian's grip and he wrapped his hands around Cavian's neck. Terra caught the falling Tsura as Serah and Claire got closer to the two. Suddenly a light enveloped around Snow and Cavian, yet a crystal protection formed around Serah, Claire, Terra, and Tsura as their surroundings disappeared into light, and then into darkness.

"SNOWWW!" Serah yelled out from behind the crystal and tried to reach for him, but Claire grabbed Serah's arm and pulled her back. Their world had vanished right in front of their eyes.

Still wrapped in the crystal protection, they were taken to a small drifting piece of rock and the protection disappeared. Terra let go go of Tsura as she fell to her knees, crying and punching the ground. Claire was holding Serah; Serah tried to hold her tears in, but it was of no use. Claire stared back at Tsura and Terra, who had been sitting right behind Tsura.

Tsura sat up and stared up at the starry sky. "This is... my fault. That Snow and the others disappeared. It's my fault." Even Terra didn't have the words to comfort her, not after what he had just seen.

Serah turned to look at Tsura, then walked up to her and slapped her hand across Tsura's face. "That's not true! Don't put yourself down like that. Snow had a reason to do that... so that you wouldn't disappear... So don't waste it. Snow is still alive, I can feel it in my heart." Serah placed her hand on her chest and smiled at Tsura with her tear-filled face.

Claire sighed and walked to them both. "I hate to admit it, but I can't see that man going down that easily." Serah smiled and nodded at Claire's comment.

Tsura slowly stood up and raised her keyblade in front of her. "We have to find Snow then. That way we can restore your world to the way it once was..." She sighed. "...and Cavian will be brought to justice."

Terra chuckled at Tsura's words as he stood up to stand next to her. He placed an arm around her shoulders and raised his keyblade to touch her's. "We also have to find Aqua and Ven. If they're having as much trouble as we did..."

Tsura nodded. "It's a dangerous universe. Mine and Ven's lost memories, and Master Xehanort exploiting the darkness. Which world shall we go to next?"

Claire and Serah scowled at both Tsura and Terra. "You're going to take us too, right?" Serah placed her hands on her hips as both Tsura and Terra laughed.

"Of course. You want to find Snow and get revenge on Cavian, right? Then we wouldn't leave you." Tsura smiled as Serah embraced her in a hug. Tsura knew their intentions, and for that Serah was grateful.

"Once we find Cavian, we'll be able to restore our world and save Vanille and the others," Claire said, slightly solemnly. The four looked out to the stars, wondering what their next move would be. Soon, Terra threw his keyblade in the air and it transformed. He then tapped the orb on his shoulder and he was enveloped in armor. Tsura followed his actions. Terra then motioned for Claire to jump on. "What is that?" She hesitantly said.

"It's a way of traveling between worlds. Normally it's dangerous without the armor, but you should be okay if you stand close to me. Serah, you should ride with Tsura." Serah nodded and grabbed Tsura's arm, hopping on to the space glider. Claire jumped on behind Terra and held tightly as the four left the barren rock to find a new world.

* * *

His eyes opened from a rock falling on his head. He gently tapped his head, only to find he was no longer wearing his hat. He slowly stood up only to find himself in a dark and desolate cavern. Snow sighed, seeing if he could find traces of Cavian; he could not.

Footsteps creeped closer to him, and he turned around to look at it. It was a strange creature with fur that covered his whole body, from top to bottom. He had humanoid arms and humanoid legs, but he had glasses over the fur, which indicated that's where his eyes were. "Ah, you're awake human."

"Am I dead? Is this what purgatory is?" Snow was confused. But if he was dead, shouldn't Cavian be here with him?

The creature laughed as he pulled out a dusty book. "Purgatory? Heavens no. This is a realm that exists, yet doesn't exist, with the human realm. Think of it as a plane of immortals, where we look upon the events of humans." He opened the book and let Snow look at it. From the book appeared a piece of crystal that showed random pictures that Snow recognized.

Snow's eyes widened. "That's... our past?"

"That's right. You pulled an interesting stunt on one of our masters, so he has sent you here to forever torture you..."

"Master? Cavian is your master?"

"That's correct. I'm here to make you witness all of your friends' suffering. Cavian wanted to save you, at least for now. So watch as your beloved Serah and her sister suffer because of your rash decision." The creature's hand started to glow and the crystal grew bigger; about 2 feet taller than what Snow was.

"You... bastard!" Snow charged at the creature, but right before his fist hit the creature, he disappeared and reappeared behind Snow. Snow turned in frustration.

"You're going to be here for a while. Might as well make use of it. By the way, you can call me Nust. We'll have to be on friendly terms for the time being. Oh and about the other girl, Tsura was her name? She won't be harmed, you can count on that. Can't say the same about everyone else though." The creature laughed as Snow clenched his fists while he glared at the crystal and the creature. He had to find a way to get out of there, but how? All he could do was watch and wait.

* * *

Aqua treaded slowly in the rain, following the carriage that held Esmeralda and her gypsy troupe. She slowly dragged her keyblade against the ground, deep in her thoughts about Canon and Ventus and Kira. Ventus mentioned that he believed she was a queen from long ago; meaning he thought she was Kira. Her memories told her otherwise, but Canon said he recognized her too. She had to know the truth, and protect the light on this world as well. Esmeralda's light shone through and it was obvious; a light that needed to be protected. The cold rain fell silently on Aqua's skin, making her cold as she fought numerous Unversed. The path was long and hard, but she had to push for it.

Ventus stood in front of the clock tower, keyblade in hand as he gazed up toward the three gargoyles that protected the bell that stood behind the clock. He clenched his fists and slowly started to go inside the tower, only to hear laughter from above. He looked up to see what had caused the laughter, only to find that the gargoyles had come to life and were staring at him. "Hey, he looks okay, right? He doesn't want to harm Quasi, I'm sure," the thinnest of the gargoyles exclaimed, pointing at Ventus.

The biggest one crawled up to the thin one and looked down at Ventus. "Yeah, he looks fine, just fine. What do you think Laverne?" The gargoyle looked behind him as a mid-sized, yet with larger wings, gargoyle walked in between the two.

When the gargoyle named Laverne spoke, it was a rather feminine voice. "Yeah, let him through. He looks troubled. Victor," she looked at the skinny one. "Hugo," and then looked to the big one. The three gargoyles nodded and pulled a string. This string opened the main gate to the clock tower so Ventus could now proceed. "Young one, you may enter."

Still a little hesitant, Ventus took a few steps into the building and looked toward his right. A giant staircase was in front of him; it probably led to the bell and the gargoyles. Holding his keyblade tight, Ventus ventured up the stairs to meet the gargoyles. When he reached the top of the stairs, the faint light of the sun peeking through the clouds hit his eyes; the rain had stopped. He was then greeted by the three gargoyles from before. "What is your name, young one?" Laverne asked him.

Ventus smiled and nodded, still a little shocked from meeting real gargoyles. "My name is Ventus, but my friends call me Ven."

"Ven eh?" Hugo smirked at the boy. "And what brings you here?"

"My friends are in trouble, and I was told that you are the guardians of this world. If we don't hurry, I'd hate to see what happens," Ventus looked between the three creatures as he spoke.

Before any of the gargoyles could speak, another creature poked his head out from behind the giant bell. He was human, but had a sort of hunched back to him. "Friends?" The human spoke.

The three gargoyles turned their heads toward the human and all said his name at the same time. "Quasimoto!"

Quasimoto walked out from behind the bell to be in full view, and he walked closer to the gargoyles. "Where are you friends?"

"At Canon's castle, supposedly. They were a group of gypsies; the leader seemed to be a woman named Esmeralda. My friend Aqua chased after them by herself." Ventus was getting excited that he was getting somewhere.

Quasimoto's eyes widened and the gargoyles gasped when Ventus mentioned Esmeralda. "Esmeralda? Canon… I see. Ven, right? I will have the gargoyles take you there. I must go talk to Captain Phoebus, and we will join you at Canon's castle." Quasimoto looked at the gargoyles and nodded.

With that, Hugo sat on all four legs and motioned for Ventus to sit on him. "Ven, we will fly you there. That way, you'll get there in no time."

Ventus held his keyblade tight and hesitantly sat on top of the gargoyle. He held tight to the creature's neck as the creature lifted its fore legs up, getting ready for flight. With that, Hugo jumped off the ground and took flight, the cool wind hitting Ventus's face as they flew. Laverne and Victor followed soon after, flying beside Hugo and Ventus.

"This… This is amazing!" Ventus called out as the wind hit his face. The three gargoyles flew on to the distance. "At this rate, we'll be able to get to the castle in no time!" The four flew on to catch up to Aqua at Canon's castle.

The interior was dark, and it looked like it had leaks in the roof because the ground was wet from all the rain. There wasn't a soul in sight; not even any of the soldier drones that attacked them before. Aqua stepped slowly in the door way and looked around, seeing if she could find any trace of Canon or the gypsies. Most likely, the gypsies would be held in a secret chamber that was hard to find. As Aqua treaded slowly across the giant hall way, a man came crashing down through the ceiling. It was that same beautiful head of black hair and a swift swing of the sword that Aqua knew exactly who came to attack her. She quickly stepped back before the man was able to land an attack on her. He stood up, slowly, his clothes slightly different from before. He still wore a black military uniform, but the coat was long and split off into four different parts. He also wore a navy blue cape to fit his uniform. Both the coat and the cape flew with the wind coming in from the hole in the ceiling he just made, and he stared straight at Aqua with cold, violet eyes.

Aqua clenched her keyblade tightly as her eyes matched Canon's. No words were said and they stood parallel from each other, both walking in a circle in a standoff. Finally, Canon stopped moving and broke out in a maniacal laughter. "You're good, my liege. I'm glad to see that you followed my command and came here by yourself." Canon bowed and swiftly sheathed his sword back up and stood to stare at Aqua, smiling at her. "As promised, I will return your gypsies free of harm. In exchange…" His tone changed to a dark tone as his glare tightened.

Aqua tightened her grip on her keyblade and she stood in a fighting stance. "In exchange?"

Canon lifted out his hand to her and smiled. On his wrist was some sort of symbol engraved into his skin. "Why, you have to stay here my liege. You didn't think I was just going to let the gypsies go without any sort of compensation? That's not how the world works…" His smile changed into a stern look. "That's not how _any _of the worlds work."

Aqua sighed. "I'm sorry, I have a mission to accomplish, and I'm afraid that doesn't involve being trapped by you!" With that, Aqua charged at Canon at full speed. Canon swiftly unsheathed his sword and blocked Aqua's charge. The two blades were locked into a standstill as Canon continued to laugh.

"Your mission is with us! Isn't that right, my liege? Maybe you just need some remembering is all." Canon knocked the keyblade out of Aqua's hands, and walked closer to her, placing his free hand on her cheek.

"Liege liege liege! My name is Aqua, so get it right!" She tried to struggle out of his grip, but she couldn't. Canon threw his blade down and grabbed Aqua's arm tightly, still caressing her cheek.

"Aqua? Is that what you're calling yourself now? How beautiful. Definitely a nice change," Canon smiled as he brought Aqua's face closer, locking her lips in a kiss. Aqua's eyes widened, but memories she didn't realize she had began to flow inside her.

Within seconds visions of a young woman in a black Victorian dress and silver hair flowed through Aqua, and then she was seeing the world through that woman's eyes. She commanded legions of darkness, creatures to spread darkness throughout the world and behind her were her three servants. One of them being Canon, who was the closest to her side. That memory faded and soon a young boy who looked like Ventus turned his gaze and smiled gently, as his very being faded to darkness.

Aqua's eyes widened as she pushed Canon away, grasping her chest while she heavily breathed. "That's not… That's… impossible…" She held her head in her hands as she fell to her knees, eyes opened as wide as they could possibly be.

Canon slowly stepped closer to Aqua and offered her his hand. "Was that it? Because of that boy you changed, and eventually you let the very darkness that you used to control overtake you. Where's the cold queen we once knew? The queen of darkness, our queen Kira!" As he said this, he grabbed just under Aqua's chin which forced her hands to fall to her side. He lifted her up just like that and smiled. The pain started to get to her; it was far worse than anything she had ever faced before. Tears rolled down her eyes; why couldn't she remember anything? "What's wrong? You're not fighting back? Aqua… are you starting to remember who you are? Who we are? Who _I _am?"

She didn't even have the will to fight back anymore. Everything she had known was a lie, at least according to what had just happened. Was it possible to alter memories? There was no way, was there? Even though the woman in the memories looked more like Tsura than her, Aqua still could vividly see those memories. Tsura. Was it possible that somehow Tsura could have subconsciously transferred her memories to Aqua? Or had they shared the same memories? Were they one and the same? All these thoughts flew into Aqua's mind. Canon's smile grew even larger as he grabbed his sword with his free hand. Ready to thrust it in Aqua to further awaken his memories, a crash from above came falling and knocked the sword, and Aqua, out of Canon's hands. Canon flew back, did a flip and landed on his feet in a crouched position. His eyes solemnly stared through his long black hair.

Out from the rubble stood a blonde haired boy holding a keyblade; Ventus. Ventus glared toward Canon and stood in fighting formation, to ready himself against Canon. If Aqua had been overtaken by Canon, then he was clearly not someone to be taken lightly. Canon stood up straight and flipped his hair back, a small smile appearing on his face as he wiped a small amount of blood from his cheek. "Heh. I should have known. Obviously you were there, so of course you would come back to save her."

"I would save any of my friends. Aqua, Terra, Tsura, it doesn't matter. We're going to put a stop to you!" Ventus yelled back, which only made Canon laugh.

"Seriously? Man when did everyone get so cheesy with this crap? It's like the foundation of you all. Then again, you did become like that after Master Xehanort extracted the darkness out of you..." Canon shook his head in embarrassment.

Ventus removed himself from his stance. Canon knew Xehanort, and him. More importantly he just revealed a piece of Ventus's past. "What... do you know about me?" Ventus said, placing his free hand on his chest.

Canon smiled and slowly walked closer to Ventus, grabbing the sword that had flown off halfway through and swinging it in front of him, still walking closer to Ventus. "I know a lot. About you, about Master Xehanort, about Eraqus, the son of a bitch. And finally I know about your little girlfriend over there, which I've been searching for for awhile." He pointed his sword past Ventus toward Aqua, who was still sitting up against the wall in rubble.

Ventus's face felt red when he said girlfriend, but he shook his head and readied himself for battle once more. "Don't touch Aqua. I'll have to beat the truth out of you if you're not going to talk!"

Canon smiled and smoothly sheathed his sword, flipping his hair back. "Who said I wasn't going to talk? Tsk tsk, Ventus. You need to be more patient. Now where should I start? How bout when I said Master Xehanort extracted the darkness out of you?"

Ventus glared at Canon, still tightly gripping his keyblade. Before Canon could continue, noise was heard from behind. Aqua shuffled through the rubble and slowly stood up, shaking as she stood up. "V-Ven... Don't. Just, go home Ven..." She said, catching her breath between each word. "What could you possibly gain from knowing this truth Ven?"

Ventus stood straight up and turned around to face Aqua. "Aqua, I came all this way to find Terra. In turn I saved you. And now you want me to go home? What do you know that I don't? What... is Master Eraqus hiding?"

Still shaking, Aqua slowly started to walk toward Ventus. "There's nothing out here for you Ven. Just leave it to me. I'll find Terra, and I'll make sure the darkness doesn't overtake him. Please leave Ven... Go home."

Ventus gripped the keyblade tightly and shook his head. "You know I came to find Terra, but by just seeing this one world, I realize there are a lot of secrets that Master Eraqus kept from me. And, probably from all of us. Unless you know Aqua? Is that why you became a Keyblade Master?"

Aqua's eyes widened. She couldn't believe her ears; what was Ventus accusing her of? She stuck her hand out in front of her and summoned her keyblade, walking slowly toward Ventus. "I know as much as you do Ven. And I can tell you, Master Eraqus does what he does to save us. Please believe in him." Aqua wanted Ventus to leave. Even she had doubted Eraqus, but she didn't want Ventus to know that. She was going to find out the truth about Kira and herself on her own.

Ventus shook his head. "I won't Aqua... I can't. Not until I find it out. Find my truth out, your truth as well, and find Terra." He turned around and looked at Canon, who looked very amused by Aqua and Ventus's conversation. "Can you take me to Master Xehanort?"

Both Canon and Aqua's eyes widened at this request. Canon laughed maniacally while holding his head, that's how much it amused him. He then smiled at Ventus. "Hey kid. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure where he's at right now. But I can tell almost as much as he can, about you. And I'm sure we're bound to run into him. Although I'd be breaking my promise if I just left this world. You see, he gave the three of us our own world to infect with darkness." Canon smiled. "...But if it's you Ventus, he may make an exception..."

Ventus shook his head. "It's not a treaty. Don't think I'm acting nice to you and am going to join you. I just have to know, I have to see Master Xehanort again."

Canon's smirk grew wider and his eyes narrowed. "Naturally." With that said, Canon stuck his hand in front of him and offered it to Ventus. Ventus slowly started to walk toward him and summoned his keyblade away. Before Ventus grabbed Canon's hand, a keyblade stopped the two from holding.

Aqua grunted as she pushed her keyblade toward Canon, knocking him back. Still breathing heavily, she glared at Ventus. "Ven, what are you thinking? Once you see Xehanort, who knows what's going to happen?"

"Don't... Don't stop me Aqua! I have to know..." Ventus placed a hand on his chest. "No matter what..."

"Ven..." Aqua sighed, then glared toward Canon. She wanted to know her truth just as much as Ventus, but that probably wasn't going to happen. Especially if she had to team up with Canon to find it out. Canon stood up and wiped blood off of his cheek. He unsheathed his sword and slowly walked toward Aqua, his normal smirk turned into a scowl.

Aqua thrusted her keyblade in front of her to block Canon's upcoming attack. He was serious now; before he was just playing around with Aqua. Now he took it as though Aqua were betraying him so he immediately flipped the switch to go into serious mode. His eyes were narrow and they almost glowed a sort of red color. "Aqua, my beautiful Aqua. Why would you do this to me? When you're so close to the truth?" He knocked her back and charged toward her again, only to be blocked by Ventus's keyblade.

"Stop it Aqua. I'm going. Don't try and follow me!" Ventus almost yelled back as he grabbed Canon's arm. "Let's go Canon."

Canon stared back at Ventus and smirked, his eyes going back to normal as he sheathed his sword back and flipped his hair. "Of course." He grabbed the arm that had grabbed him, and darkness formed around them. Canon smiled back at Aqua. "Have fun with what this world will turn into. The dead aren't really dead, and without me, this world cannot be saved." Canon and Ventus walked into the door to Darkness and disappeared, Aqua falling to her knees as she watched. She couldn't protect Ventus. It should have been her to walk in there with Canon, but she took her duty too far. That, and she had let Canon kiss her, throwing her off.

"Ven..." Aqua dropped her keyblade and placed a hand on her chest, looking up to the hole in the ceiling. It started to rain again; the rain drops falling on her face. Some rustling was heard from beyond where Canon had been thrown against the wall, and out came Esmeralda. Esmeralda looked a little concerned, her face slightly solemn as though she witnessed the whole thing. The two women stared at each other, having no words to say but knowing exactly what they felt.

Esmeralda slightly walked closer to Aqua, only to have the three gargoyles that helped Ventus crash down in front of Aqua, looking solemn. Laverne hopped over to Esmeralda, telling her the grim news. "Lord Frollo. Lord Frollo is... he's.. he's..."

Victor cut in. "He's back."

Esmeralda's eyes opened as she stepped back. "But that's..."

Aqua stood up and brushed herself off, looking around. "Who's Frollo?"

Hugo cut in. "He used to run things around here, we thought he died but... he just came back to the tower after we came back after delivering Ventus. He's terrible..."

Aqua sighed. She had to take care of the darkness that was in this world, but Ventus was also in Canon's clutches. She couldn't have either be corrupted by darkness, but Canon's words also disturbed her. She shook her head. "Where is he? The clock tower?" The gargoyles nodded. Aqua nodded back and she ran out of the castle, going to find the Frollo. The gargoyles knew well that they would need to keep Esmeralda safe.

Aqua ran through the rain to at least save this world from darkness, which was the main mission she had to embark on anyway. Running through the rain, she slowly felt a cold chill from behind her. Looking toward her back, she noticed that the castle had vanished into complete darkness. Canon had left, and with his leaving, he made the world's protection disappear. Stopping in her tracks, Aqua pressed her shoulder to form the armor around her, changing her keyblade into a space glider. Staring as this world blackened into darkness, Aqua watched in terror. How could she have miscalculated so much? She flew her glider up, watching the world fade into darkness. She held her chest, breathing heavily.

"What have you done?" She shook her head. "What... have I done?" Aqua knew she had to go to other worlds, but mostly to find Ventus, Terra, and Tsura. But to meet Canon along the way would also be a bonus. She sighed, grieving the loss of the world and also the loss of Ventus. There was no way she could return to Master Eraqus until she got Ventus back. Aqua flew her glider until she found the next world; hopefully things would go a lot smoother for her.

* * *

It was a dark castle, with Layns roaming around all of the halls. This was the dark side, the other realm that was on the other side of Destiny Islands. The area in which Queen Kira had ruled with her three servants, Canon being one of them. Ventus slowly followed behind Canon through the castle. "Aqua is your friend, right? You said you had two other friends? But the only one you really care about is Aqua, no?" Canon broke the silence as they walked through the brightly colored, ornately decorated hall.

"That's not true. I care about all of them. That's why I left in the first place, to find Terra." Ventus stopped following and stared at Canon. "What is it about Aqua that made you treat her that way?" Ventus felt like he already knew, but he had to confirm it. If Canon claims he was her servant, than he had to know more about it.

Canon stopped and replied, not even turning around to face Ventus. "You know it. You felt it. She's Kira. Our queen. You remember her at least, don't you?" Canon sighed and shrugged. "Although, y'know, I feel like she's missing something. Besides her pretty silver hair. Tell me about your other two friends. Are they both female?" Canon only gave a slight look past his shoulder and smiled at Ventus. This time it was more of a friendly smile, which really shocked Ventus.

Ventus shook his head. "No, Terra is a boy. Well, more of a man. Tsura though... She's just about the same as me except a female. With silver hair. No memories, Master Eraqus wanted to protect her from the outside world."

Canon slightly cringed when he heard the explanation of Tsura. "I see..." He messed with his hair and shrugged in frustration. "Ugh, this is becoming more complex than I thought. I might... not be completely correct when it comes to Aqua being Kira..." He shook his head, more talking to himself than Ventus. "But it's there. At least, part of her is there... Dammit all, I didn't think it was going to be this hard..." Canon started to walk down the hall again, Ventus slowly following.

"Aqua is... isn't Kira? I'm a little confused."

"Maybe. There's a piece of her that is in Aqua, definitely. There might be a piece in Tsura... I have to see her to know though..." Canon stopped and turned around to look at Ventus. "Master Xehanort told us that Kira had been taken to the Land of Departure, under Eraqus's guard. But no other details were given. Kira had only been missing for a year, when Aqua claims she has been at the Land of Departure all her life." Canon folded his arms across his chest. This Canon that was in front of Ventus was completely different than the one from before. It was weird, but a little comforting. "But it's definitely there. Kira may have had some more powers we didn't know about." Canon shook his head. "Enough about that. Ventus, you were Master Xehanort's original pupil. To be trained with the Keyblade. In reality though, he wanted to create a perfect balance of light and dark inside of you. When that failed he extracted the darkness in your heart to make one pure being of light, and one pure being of darkness. It is still unknown to what that being of darkness is, but he is your other half."

"The masked boy! I remember him..." Ventus called, remembering a very faint glimpse of the masked boy that had stood next to Xehanort in a meeting he once had with Eraqus.

"Xehanort... When you two clash, something big is supposed to happen. He didn't give us much information other than that. But he promised that we would be on the winning side, and that we would also be able to gain our queen back while he is in this process..." Canon shook his head. "We may be doing the wrong thing though," he said, quietly, thinking that Ventus wouldn't hear him, but he did. Though Ventus didn't say anything about it. Canon laughed again and turned back around, facing away from Ventus. "Who the hell am I kidding? I don't give a damn who I hurt, as long as things can go back to the way they were. That's really all that matters to me. Xehanort, Eraqus, Light, Darkness, it doesn't matter to me." He shrugged and looked at Ventus with a friendly smile, then looked back. "Don't get me wrong, I don't care much about you or your friends either. But if Aqua and the other girl are what's necessary to get Queen Kira back, then so be it..." He shook his head. "And, unfortunately, you're probably another key part in it too. And I'm sure Xehanort has some other plan for your male friend."

Ventus was confused by the majority of what Canon was going on about, but it was interesting to hear his thought process. Canon wasn't evil, just not good either. He had no balance of light or dark, he simply just did the things that benefited him. Ventus didn't really care too much for that lifestyle, but it was definitely a different light to see Canon in. "He may be tricking you and the other two. Master Xehanort. I have to believe in Aqua, to believe that Master Eraqus had a reason for all this. Even still, I have to know. I have to see Xehanort... and the masked boy."

"Yeah, I know he is. The key to Kira is the key to you. But still, we do what he says. Because, he scares us; I'm sure we could take him out if we wanted. But we won't, and if we did, Kira may be lost to us forever. It's a mess, but it's what it really means to be human." Canon shook his head. "You don't remember now, but you will. You've always been like this. You had been taken to Destiny Islands after the extraction, and quickly became friends with Kira. Kira, a resident of darkness becoming friends with a being of pure light. The other two liked you, but honestly I didn't care much for you." Canon turned back around to face Ventus. "I probably got jealous. I thought you were going to take Kira away from us- from me." Canon gave that friendly smile again. "This is what you want to know, right? Your memories? I'm telling you what I know. As far as Xehanort goes, I've told you what I've been told."

Ventus nodded his head. "Anything to help me remember... I'm very surprised. You're not the same Canon I fought back in Cite Cloches. And the Layns here... they aren't attacking at all..." Ventus looked around at all the Layns lining the hall.

Canon gave the friendly smile again. "That's right. That's one thing we have under our control that Xehanort doesn't. The Layns attack when we tell them to. As of now, you are a guest that isn't doing me harm." He narrowed his gaze. "But that doesn't mean it will stay like that."

Ventus looked at Canon, with a friendly smile. "I'll count on that."

"Kira trusted you, and it eventually came to the point that she stopped controlling the Layns. She wanted to give up her position as the queen of darkness. The ruler of the dark realm of this world- of this place. Because of that, this place was overrun by the uncontrollable darkness and she lost you- you had left because Xehanort was calling you. She followed you into the darkness- probably guided to the Land of Departure by who knows what. But I've managed to maintain this place, here in the darkness realm." Canon sighed. "And during her disappearance Xehanort had come to us, rather to me, because he gave you to Eraqus. He mentioned Kira and told us that we had to rule different worlds, and eventually she would come to us, since she was under the watch of Eraqus. Well, you know the rest." Canon pointed up the stairs. "Kira's room was the only one on this second floor. Feel free to use it. Once I figure out what to do with you, I'll let you know. Otherwise, I don't care what happens." Canon scratched his head and started to walk away from the stairs, passing Ventus.

"Canon," Ventus called, causing Canon to stop. "I'm sorry. My memories still haven't flowed back, but I can feel it. The pain that I remember, all of it, it will slowly come back. So, I'm sorry that I came between you and Kira."

Canon chuckled. "You idiot. Whatever, I'm done with you for now. May the best man win." He waved his hand and took the hall to the right, near the entrance. Ventus smiled and nodded.

* * *

_Chapter 4 End_

_*Secret Report 4 Unlocked: Ventus's Journal entry One_

_Aqua was proven to be Queen Kira, the queen of my memories. At least, that's what Canon and I had originally thought, but after speaking of Tsura, Canon seemed to think their Queen had been split into two people. Was it possible? It doesn't sound like it, but Xehanort did the same with me. The masked boy and I, two different beings but originally from my body. So that means it is possible._

_I felt bad; I defied Aqua, but I wanted to know. I'm glad though. It appears that Canon only put up a front to throw off Xehanort, because after going into the Door to Darkness, Canon completely changed his attitude. He was friendly, even after all that happened in our past. He told me a lot of information, and it's slowly starting to come back. About Kira, and about Xehanort. And about Canon and the other two servants, though I can't remember their names right now._

_I don't remember much, but I do remember Canon and Kira being really close. And from Canon's reactions and his expressions, and the way he treated Aqua, it was a lot more than that. I remember Kira too, very vividly. Kind, gentle, so I'm surprised to hear that she is a Queen of Darkness. But, apparently she wasn't always like that; not until I met her. I want to know more about the "real" Kira, and about Canon's truth as well. He's misguided, but he'snot a bad guy. I want to know that truth, and maybe we can find Kira without having to harm Aqua or Tsura, and we can overthrow Xehanort._

_Because not even those guys deserve to be tricked like that._

_On another note, I really wonder how Tsura and Terra are doing. I hope they at least found each other._


	6. Chapter 5 - Broken Trust

**Chapter 5: Broken Trust**

The closest world looked as though it were an amusement park; roller coasters were seen from high above and Tsura almost got excited about going there. She wondered if she would be able to contain her excitement, but then realized that she had a mission to accomplish. Both Tsura and Terra landed their spice gliders, with their guests hopping off with them. Tsura and Terra tapped their shoulders and their armor dissipated, revealing their normal wear. The gliders changed back into their keyblades and they made their keyblades disappear, and they both smiled at each other. Claire and Serah stared at the distance; the fun amusement park right in front of their eyes. Serah was a little excited and started to run toward it, but Claire called after her. "What are you doing? We're not here to have fun!" She called.

Serah smiled and turned to face her sister, clasping her hands behind her and slightly tilting her head. "Aw, come on sis. It's not like there are any Layns or anything right now. We can take a breather until something comes up." Serah smiled and walked closer to Terra, grabbing his hands and nodding, making Terra blush a little. "Is it okay Terra?" She then looked at Tsura. "Tsura?"

Tsura couldn't contain it anymore. She placed her hands in front of her like a child, smiled wide, and nodded happily. "I'll race you to the biggest roller coaster, Serah!" It was as though she had forgotten all about Cavian, about what had just happened; she just wanted to have fun. With that, Tsura started to run toward the entrance of the park, Serah quickly letting go of Terra's hands and slowly following behind.

Terra sighed and put his hand on his head, grinning as he did this. He then looked at Claire. "Maybe a little breather is just what we need." He walked past Claire and followed the two happy girls into the amusement park, Claire following close behind.

Tsura stopped in front of what appeared to be the largest roller coaster; it was red with loops and hills and it looked fun. Cheerful music was playing in the background. Tsura turned and smiled at Serah and offered her hand toward the coaster. "Shall we Serah?" Serah smiled and nodded, taking Tsura's hand and the two jumping on the coaster. There was a robot running the machinery, which they didn't even begin to question it. Tsura and Serah were in the first car, while Terra and Claire watched as it started up. At this moment, there really wasn't any harm in them riding the coaster. They watched as it traveled up the hill, slowly and slowly.

Terra's eyes widened; a dark spot appeared on the top, Layns forming out of it. "Tsura!" He called out, and as he tried to follow her up the coaster, Unversed appeared to surround him and Claire. "Dammit..." He summoned his keyblade and Claire summoned her gunblade, ready to take on the Unversed in front of them.

Tsura unfastened her seatbelt and stood up on the coaster, keeping her balance as she summoned her keyblade just in time to slash the monsters through. Serah was about to stand up too, until Tsura stopped her. "Stay down Serah; I'll handle these here." She smiled and continued to slash away at the monsters as they appeared, while the coaster continued to go. "Why are they both here?" Tsura cried as she sliced through the Layns as the roller coaster went. Finally it came to a stop, back at the beginning and Tsura jumped out, Serah following.

The Unversed were all destroyed by Terra and Claire. The four circled each other, staring around until they noticed a small critter walking past the roller coaster and into the gates. Tsura ran toward it to try and catch it. "Hey wait!" She called, careful not to step on it when she got close to it. It was tiny, almost like a cricket. In fact, it _was _a cricket. Tsura kneeled down to see him, to see if he can talk to her.

The cricket faced her; he was wearing a top hat and a small suit. "Oh my! I'm sorry, but I can't stay and chat. I lost a very important boy." The cricket appeared panicked.

"A boy? Can we help? If those creatures are roaming around, you'll probably need our help," Tsura smiled. "I'm Tsura. The only boy over there is Terra. The cute girl is Serah, and the scary looking one is Claire." She smirked, making sure no one else heard her; which they didn't.

The cricket jumped in joy. "Oh boy, you sure are right. I don't know how I could have made it if you all weren't there. Cricket's the name; Jiminy Cricket. If you don't mind, Tsura, I'll be joining you." Tsura smiled and nodded, held her hand out for Jiminy to crawl up. He did and rested on her shoulder. She turned around and smiled at the other three and waved to get them over to her. "So, what were those things?" Jiminy asked Tsura.

"They're creatures of darkness, and their only goal is to destroy the worlds," Terra smiled as he stepped closer to Tsura. He placed an arm around Tsura's shoulders and placed his mouth close to her ear, whispering in it. It frightened her a little for him to get that close to her. "I heard what you said. You better be glad Claire didn't," he chuckled as he moved away from her, her face a bright red. "Jiminy, you can count on us to protect this world from darkness."

The five walked through the gate to hopefully find the boy Jiminy was looking for. As they walked, Claire broke the silence. "If those were Layns, we can probably expect to see Cavian here..." She felt herself scowl at this notion.

Tsura stayed quiet. Maybe it would be Cavian. Maybe it would be another servant. She couldn't remember much, but she knew that there were three servants that served "their liege." All of a sudden, her head began to throb and she stood still, holding it. Cavian, Cain, Canon- all three of these names came to her. The pain dissipated quickly though, and she came back, only to find Terra really close to her and holding her shoulders. "I'm fine..." She coldly said, not even giving Terra time to say anything.

Terra shook his head. "That's good, but take it easy. Maybe... maybe you should return home." Tsura glared at Terra. He knew that wasn't possible. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." She gave him another look that pretty much said, 'Yeah, you probably shouldn't have.'

Tsura stood up straight and brushed herself off, and started to walk in the direction they were going. The other three stared in concern. Claire walked up and tapped Terra on the shoulder. "Was it because I mentioned Cavian?"

Terra shook his head. "No, it's because I asked her to go home." Terra sighed and ran after Tsura, Serah and Claire treading slowly behind.

Serah grabbed Claire's arm. "Hey, do you think we should leave them alone?" Claire looked back at Serah, then toward where they had gone, then back at Serah again.

Claire shrugged. "I'll give them ten minutes. Don't forget that cricket is with them as well." Serah smiled at Claire and nodded, sitting down and hugging her knees. Serah's smile turned into a solemn look, and Claire had known what was wrong. "He's alive. That idiot wouldn't die even if there was nothing but darkness left." She was clearly talking about Snow.

Serah shook her head. "I know. I know he's still alive; I can feel it. But there's still something inside me that doubts it, I dunno. He sacrificed himself so we can survive, but I don't think he's gone. It's still..." Tears started to come out of her eyes and she covered her face, not wanting Claire to see.

Claire walked closer to Serah and sat next to her, placing her arm around her shoulders. In an instant, Serah buried her head into Claire's chest and let the tears fall. "Shit Serah. What can we do? We're nothing compared to what we've seen. We've been fighting Cavian and the Layns for over a year, but we knew nothing of his real intentions. And then these other-worlders come and their weapons can instantly vanquish Layns, Cavian is familiar with them..." Claire sighed. "We're just a small part of a much bigger picture. But that didn't stop Snow from fighting for what he believed in; and he's still fighting. So let's fight for him too..." Claire began to stroke Serah's hair as she continued to cry. They sat there to wait for time, and more importantly, wait for Serah to get her composure back.

* * *

"They're not following us," Jiminy's voice broke the silence as he still stood on Tsura's shoulder.

"It's fine. They'll come. And if they don't, that's okay too. I wouldn't want anyone to be brought down because of me," Tsura's expression was cold and solemn; not at all like what she just was moments ago.

"Tsura!" A voice called from behind. Tsura stopped, and turned only her head to see Terra running toward her.

"Jiminy. Do you think you can hide somewhere for a few minutes? I promise we'll come back for you," Tsura said to Jiminy before Terra caught up.

"Sure thing Tsura," Jiminy nodded, jumping down and hid in a bush to the right of them. It was a path leading to the ocean; the night starlit and beautiful, just like the evenings they spent together in the Land of Departure. Tsura, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus; after their training they would sneak off and stare up at the sky.

Tsura stood, her back toward Terra, and staring up at the sky trying to remember her past. Terra slowed his pace and slowly walked next to Tsura, staring at her and then up at the sky. No words were said for a while; Terra gently clasped Tsura's hand, her eyes slightly widening, but ignoring it. She let him hold her hand; she needed the protection and comfort. After a few more minutes of silence, Tsura began to speak. "You shouldn't have followed me. You should protect Serah and Claire until they find Snow, and then go home. Cavian is my problem... and this whole mess; probably my problem too."

Terra's grip tightened around Tsura's hand. "You know I can't do that, right? If I go home, that'll be like admitting failure to Master Eraqus. This is a journey to prove that I can become a keyblade Master." Terra shook his head. "It's not just that either... You and Ven, your problems and your past, are all of our problems." He turned to look at Tsura and turned her around, his other hand on her shoulder. She shifted her gaze to the ground, not wanting to look at Terra. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Tsura didn't say anything. She instead tried to get out of Terra's grip. Finally as she continued to struggle, she spoke. "Why? Why are you doing all this to help me? I don't want to involve you or Aqua... This is between me, Ven, Xehanort, and those three men. So leave us alo-"

Before Tsura could finish, Terra had pulled her closer and locked her into a kiss. Right under the starlight, he held her in his arms and caressed her hair, not letting go of the kiss and holding her tightly. Her eyes widened, but they slowly closed as Terra held her tightly. It seemed to last for an eternity, until Terra gently released the kiss and stared into Tsura's eyes, the stars shining brightly against her face. He lifted her up with him and held her hands with his.

Tears started to fall down her eyes. Terra wiped them with his hand. "This doesn't... mean anything..." Tsura turned away from Terra, placing her hands on her chest as she looked down. "Terra I can't... Not with you. No matter how my feelings might change, no matter how right it seems, I can't." Terra walked behind Tsura and placed his arms around her, embracing her and resting his head on her hair. "Because I exist, I've ruined Aqua's chance to be happy with you."

This caused Terra's eyes to widen. "What... do you mean?" Terra was oblivious to Aqua's feelings toward him; he only saw her as a sister. There was a long time when he thought about it, but Aqua had turned him down; she was scared at the time and didn't want to destroy their friendship.

Tsura shook her head. "I mean, no... it's nothing. Sorry, forget I said it. But it would be better to forget about me; about your feelings, about how I even ever existed." Tsura gently took Terra's arms off of her and started walking down the path. "Don't follow me this time Terra. There's something in this world that seems off, and it probably has to do with Cavian. I may know more about my past; so much that I may not return. So just forget about me." She didn't even stop to listen to Terra; she continued to walk on.

Terra started to walk after her, then started to see pure darkness. He closed his eyes, then opened them again and the whole world was gone. He was just in pure darkness. Terra started to walk around, just trying to figure out where he was. "Tsura? Tsura!" He called. This may have been a trick by Cavian, but he still had to go on.

A faint light appeared in front of him and he shielded his eyes. A voice sounded through the darkness, "You love that woman, don't you? Too bad for you, the darkness knows not of such an emotion. And that's where you belong." A figure in a black coat appeared from the light, walking toward Terra. He pulled his hood down and smiled. He had dark skin, amber eyes, and silver hair that was almost the same as Terra's, just styled a little differently. The man lifted his hand in front of him, offering it to Terra. "We may be able to arrange something though. You see, she too is a resident of darkness. She's just returning to where she belongs; we let her stay with Eraqus for awhile, to train her, and then to meet all of you. Especially Ventus."

Terra scowled. "What are you going to do with Ven?"

The man laughed. "Master Xehanort needs him, as well as Vanitas- the masked boy, to create an artificial x-blade. It's the key to unlocking Kingdom Hearts. You know this, don't you? Or did Eraqus keep that from you?" The man smiled, putting his hand back.

Terra stared blankly at the man. "That's... the heart of all the worlds. What that original keyblade war was about. I only heard stories." Terra shook his head. "That boy, the one that was with Xehanort at the Mark of Mastery..."

The man smiled and turned around. "If you want to know more, just follow the light. You may find Tsura there too." With that, he walked into the light and disappeared. Feeling as though he had no other choice, Terra followed the man into the light, hoping to find answers.

* * *

A room full of colorful decorations, gold, and children's toys. It almost resembled a child's playroom. At the far end of the room, opposite the door, a throne with a young boy sitting was placed. He sat like a king, a small black and white jester hat tilted to the right side of his golden hair; the hat only covered about a fourth of the top of his head. This boy wore something similar to a school uniform; green and black plaid shorts that go to his knees, a long-sleeved white colored shirt, but the sleeves were rolled up to around his elbows, and a red and black plaid vest over the shirt. His eyes were a deep red. He sat, one hand under his chin, and smiling at his new play mate; a wooden puppet who had the abilities of a real boy. The puppet played with some wooden toys and was cheerful.

The puppet picked up a wooden dog and smiled toward the boy in the throne. "Look Cain! Can he become a real dog, just like I'm going to be a real boy?"

The boy in the throne, called Cain, sat up and stretched his arms in the air, smiling. "Of course Pinocchio. Anything you wish can become real," Cain smiled and placed his right hand in front of him. Opening his palm, a dark portal opened and small light started to form in it. Pinocchio set the dog softly down and ran up to Cain, staring in amazement at the portal.

"You shouldn't give the boy false promises," A smooth, deep voice spoke from behind Pinocchio. Cain closed his hand and stood up, smiling. Pinocchio turned around to also glance upon the man. From the door, a masked boy with dark red and black clothing started to walk toward them until he stopped right next to Pinocchio.

"Why do you have to ruin my fun? I enjoy entertainment; you're too serious." Cain smiled, but narrowed his eyes.

The masked boy smiled, and slowly took his mask off, revealing a young childish face, with black spiky hair. "I think you'll have more fun once you know who has come to this world. Do you really need to keep playing with the puppet?"

Pinocchio wasn't too happy with this remark. "I'm not a puppet! I'm a real boy!"

"Yeah yeah, sure, whatever kid. That's what you think, but you'll soon realize that's all a lie," The boy smiled as he patted Pinocchio's head. "Right now, we need to talk, so go play pretend somewhere else."

Pinocchio was pretty furious by now. But he didn't want to stand up to this scary boy, so he walked back to the wooden dog and started to play with it, making barking sounds for the dog. "Enough tormenting my guest, Vanitas. Now who are you talking about?" Cain stopped the masked boy from tormenting Pinocchio any further.

Vanitas grinned. "Wouldn't it be better if you were to see for yourself? I thought you liked surprises."

Before Cain could say anything back, a crash from above interrupted the two men; up from the rubble came Aqua, still in her armored wear. Still holding her keyblade, she tapped the shoulder of her armor to reveal her normal clothes, and immediately went into a fighter stance upon seeing Vanitas. "You're... the masked boy! You were with Xehanort!"

Vanitas shrugged and shook his head, slightly smirking at Aqua's display. "I was," after smirking, he summoned a keyblade in his hand, shocking both Aqua and Cain. Aqua's eyes widened, but her stance didn't falter.

"How... how did you do that?" Aqua questioned Vanitas. "That's not possible! To be a keyblade wielder, you must have light in your heart."

Cain sighed and walked closer to Aqua, placing his hand on her shoulder. When he touched her, a few memories began to flow through him and he immediately knew; Aqua, at least a piece of her, was Kira. He didn't let that stop him from what he was going to say though; but, was Aqua the guest Vanitas was talking about? "That... isn't necessarily true," Cain spoke, talking about the light in a keyblade wielder's heart.

Aqua looked at the boy that was next to her and her eyes widened. The memories weren't as strong as Canon's, but still it only meant that this boy was the third servant. "What... do you mean? Master Eraqus always told us that to be able to wield a keyblade, you must have a strong heart and be one of light."

Cain sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He got one part right - you must have a strong heart. In normal circumstances, only warriors of light can be keyblade wielders... that is, until someone found a way to change that."

Aqua's eyes widened at Cain, then looked back at Vanitas who was just smirking at this exchange. "Xehanort! He found a way?"

Vanitas smirked and ran toward Aqua. "He did, and he let Queen Kira in on that secret. It's a shame that fool let my other half get the best of her."

As Vanitas charged at Aqua, she blocked his attacks. Other half? What was this boy talking about? "What do you mean? Other half? Stop talking in riddles and explain this to me!" Aqua was able to knock Vanitas back with a thrust of her keyblade.

Vanitas started to laugh maniacally and then he pointed toward Cain, who was only watching the fight from the sidelines. "He should be able to tell you that. I think you know my other half well."

Aqua looked at Cain with a face full of questions, but Cain's face was blank. It was clear he didn't want to speak the answer, but he sighed and said very few words. "Ventus." Aqua's eyes widened.

Ven. Did Master Eraqus know all along the dangers of the Mask Boy and Ven? Is that why he needed Ven to come home as soon as possible? But now Ven was gone, nowhere to be found, all because he had to know the truth by going with Canon. Canon! He must be telling Ven the same things that Aqua was hearing, and hopefully not endangering Ven in anyway... except it was Canon in question.

Vanitas laughed maniacally again because of Aqua's reaction. "That's right, that little boy. He is the light to me, and I am his darkness. To create a true being of pure light, Master Xehanort extracted the darkness out of Ventus to create a true being of darkness... Me." He shrugged. "That was after he stole him from Kira. He hated the way Kira and Ventus were becoming close... And even though she was a being of darkness, she was not of pure darkness. Neither were her servants." Vanitas glared past Aqua toward Cain.

Aqua clenched her keyblade tightly. "Like I thought... it all links back to Xehanort." She shook her head. "Canon is not my true enemy then..." She readied her keyblade. "It's you and Xehanort!" She called as she ran toward Vanitas.

Cain ran after her, attempting to stop her. "Wait! You won't be able to beat him if you're incomplete!"

Aqua's keyblade clashed with Vanitas's, but Cain's warning was right - suddenly Vanitas was more powerful than before. Aqua was thrown across the room, straight into Cain's throne. This even caused Pinnochio to stop playing and glanced around to see what was happening. Cain ran toward where Aqua fell, talking to Vanitas on his way. "Vanitas, stop this now! Now is not the time... when so little has been answered. Xehanort will wish to wait as well." Cain stood above Aqua as she slowly stood from the rubble.

He tried to help her up, but she shrugged him off. Cain was confusing; at first he warned Aqua, but now he was helping Vanitas. A double agent? She glared at Cain with cold eyes, but his eyes were filled with genuine worry. This expression made Aqua's glare soften as she sighed, looking away from Cain. "You're... one of Kira's servants." Cain nodded. "You're not like Canon at all. I guess it wouldn't make sense if all three of you were similar."

Cain tilted his head. "Where did you meet Canon?"

Aqua scoffed at this question. "La Cites de Cloche. Unfortunately, it is a world that has been disappeared into darkness. He fled, taking Ventus with him."

Cain sighed, placing a hand under his chin. "That wasn't part of the plan. Dammit Canon, always making up plans on his own and not telling us." Aqua looked at Cain with a confused look. Was Canon changing the plan a good or bad thing? She wasn't sure. To be sure, she had to know where Cain's allegiance lied - was he with Xehanort, or was he just trying to get Kira back?

Vanitas spoke to interrupt the conversation. "You want me to stop? Pathetic, but it figures. I guess Xehanort's plan wouldn't work right if I were to do away with this do-gooder right now." Vanitas smirked toward Aqua.

Cain stood in front of Aqua, rather protectively of her. "I wouldn't let you get rid of her anyway."

Vanitas began laughing. "Amusing. Whatever... I'll be leaving." With that, Vanitas opened a door to darkness and disappeared into it, leaving Aqua and Cain behind.

Aqua sighed and placed a hand on her hip, staring at Cain. Her expression shifted to one of genuine content as she spoke to Cain. "You were helping Vanitas just moments ago. What made you change your mind so quickly?"

Without turning around, a chuckle was heard from Cain. He appeared to be the youngest of the three servants, though Aqua didn't know it since she hadn't met Cavian yet, but somewhere deep inside her she knew that Cain was the most childlike one of them. "You should know more than anyone."

"I'm not Kira."

"Not fully."

Aqua stared back at Cain's head as he slowly turned around with a grin on his face. Her expression was unfaltered. "You look as though you've heard this before."

"I don't know what to think of it though. I did meet Canon," Aqua slightly shrugged at the mention of his name and everything he did to her. Because of all of those events, that world had been shrouded completely in darkness and there was not a thing Aqua could have done to save it. "However, whatever secrets or truth there is, I won't let it affect my mission."

"To protect the light, right?" By now, Cain was fully facing Aqua, and he had his arms folded over his chest and gave Aqua a sort of condescending stare. Aqua was slightly shocked at this.

"You seem to know more about us than Canon," She questioned Cain's motives as she summoned her keyblade – she was prepared for anything.

Cain chuckled again. "I did my research. Cavian and Canon only cared about getting their queen back, and while I was also concerned with that, I had other things on my mind. Xehanort was one weird dude; to be honest I wasn't sure what his real plan was. So yeah, my research lead me to research your wonderful Land of Departure where Master Eraqus is residing, and also about the lovely keyblade wielders that live there. Master Xehanort told us that was where Kira was, so I sent Layns to investigate." Aqua's eyes widened. There were Layns that close to their home, and they didn't realize it? Cain continued, "They mentioned finding pieces of Kira in that place, but she wasn't complete. They also reported on a keyblade master's sole duty – to protect the light."

Aqua started to speak, but before any words could be spoken, Cain lifted his finger as if to quiet her. "Although, shouldn't it be more along the lines of 'to protect the balance between light and dark?' Without dark, there cannot be light, and vice versa. Yin and Yang. They are two sides of the same coin."

She stared at him. The way Aqua grew up; she believed that darkness was all bad, but the way Cain spoke made incredible sense. Was it because she really did have a piece of Kira inside her, or was it because what he said made sense?

Before she could ask any more questions, Pinocchio interrupted the two. "Caiiin~ This is boring! Can we play some more?"

Cain stared behind Aqua and smiled at the boy playing with the wooden puppy. "Of course we can. Aqua, would you like to play?" He smiled at her as she made her keyblade disappear.

She shook her head. "No. Last time I played with somebody, a whole world was completely lost to the darkness." She slightly chuckled at this. Cain shrugged and walked past Aqua. It was more of a childish skip, really, as he kneeled down and smiled at Pinocchio.

As the two boys played, Aqua couldn't help but start thinking about everything. About Kira, Tsura, the servants, the darkness, Master Xehanort, and the light. Everything. She then thought of the secret that Master Eraqus had told her and Tsura, and whether or not she would have to resort to that secret. She shook her head. Her, Ven, Terra, and Tsura would find a way to fix things; she knew that for a fact.

While still in her thoughts, she noticed that someone was running toward her through the shadows. She summoned her keyblade as the person came closer. As the figure's shape became more prominent, she widened her eyes as she realized who it was. Her keyblade immediately disappeared and she ran to hug him.

"Terra!" He returned the hug, although he seemed a little confused.

"Aqua… Wait, you're on this world too?" He looked around and noticed Cain and Pinocchio, but he paid no mind to them. He was really looking for Tsura.

Aqua let go of him. "Well, I just arrived. I'm so glad to see you. Have you seen Tsura yet since we left?"

Terra sighed. "I was with her up until just moments ago. Then she ran off from me and well… Aqua, let's just say I'm fighting my own darkness. That caused me to lose track of Tsura though. What about Ven? Have you ran into him?"

Aqua smiled. "At least we know she wasn't lost." She then sighed and looked down. "Well… almost something similar. We were on another world together, but he was taken… Soon after, that world was enveloped in darkness."

Terra sighed, but put a hand on Aqua's shoulder. "Well, we know that they're both okay. I'm sure we'll run into them soon enough."

A chuckle could be heard from Cain, which caused both Aqua and Terra to look back at him. He seemed to be talking to himself.

"Nust, you weren't lying about that. I'm glad I can trust you with everything," Cain was really speaking into a small crystal that fit inside his hand. Pinocchio was so interested in it, that he was also staring into it. Everyone could see the interesting, furry creature, but no one except for Cain could hear him. Both Aqua and Terra walked closer to Cain to see what was going on, when Terra noticed a familiar person inside the crystal. Right there, next to Nust, the furry creature, stood Snow.

"Snow!" Terra exclaimed, and proceeded to try and grab the crystal, which caused Cain to tightly clasp it and stood up, grinning at Terra as if to invite him to try and grab the crystal again. Aqua held out an arm in front of Terra. "What was that? Why was Snow there?"

"That man is Nust's prisoner. I see now, so you _were _the one who helped infiltrate Cavian's castle and caused that world to be enveloped in darkness," Cain smiled at the two, but his smile went from genuine to almost maniacal. "That man was at ground zero – the cataclysm and power that caused such great damage to Cavian was caused by him, so now he is Nust's prisoner."

Aqua stared at Terra. There was a lot that happened that the two would have to talk to each other, but she wasn't sure if he would tell her. There was a lot she had to say too, but she wanted him to speak first. Cain began laughing again, as though he knew what the other two were thinking.

"It seems like there's a lot you two are keeping from each other. It's about time you two talked, right?" Cain smiled as he stepped back, falling into his throne-like chair. He snapped his fingers and a crown appeared on his head. Another snap, and two golden chairs appeared next to Aqua and Terra, along with a matching table. There was self-pouring tea, that looked as though a ghost were in charge of it, along with snacks on the table. Pinocchio was so excited at Cain's spectacle that he applauded. "Now's a good time as any to talk. I'd like to say we have all the time in the world, but we really don't. So, if you don't now, then this chance might never occur again." Aqua and Terra sat down and stared at each other, both wondering who would start and with what. "Also, you might want to do this as quickly as possible. You don't know what could happen to your friends." Cain smirked as he unclasped his hand and stared inside the crystal, looking at Nust and his prisoner.

_Chapter 5 End_

* * *

_*Secret Report 5 Unlocked: Tsura's Journal Entry Two _

_Terra. I'm sorry. I don't know what to do anymore. Everything with Cavian, all of these thoughts, and everything you felt for me. I was happy… I really was, when you told me your feelings. But it's not fair to Aqua or you. I'm a curse; a burden, which means I have to do this on my own. _

_I want nothing more than to go back to the old days, when it was us four training under Master Eraqus, and not a care in the world. What I wouldn't give to go back to that, but what's done is done. There is already so much we all know that… well, we could never go back to the way things were. So, I have to fix this. Cain, Cavian, Canon – whatever they are planning with Master Xehanort, I will find out and I will fix it. Count on it. That way, at the very least, Terra, you, Aqua, and Ven can all live happily, without the burden of me. _

_If Ven is involved in me, then I am sorry, but if so, then Terra and Aqua should at least be able to be happy together. That's why I can't accept your love._

…_Even though I think I love you Terra._


End file.
